Director, Forward Deployed Engineering

Hadrian Automation • Torrance, CA

5d • $300,000 - $415,000

About The Position

Hadrian is building autonomous factories by combining AI, advanced software, robotics, and full-stack manufacturing to help aerospace and defense companies build mission-critical products faster and at lower cost. The Director, Forward Deployed Engineering leads the technical arm of Hadrian’s Customer Programs motion within Build Engineering and partners directly with the Customer Programs team. The role owns the manufacturing scoping of new customer engagements, translating customer needs into commitments Hadrian can deliver.

This is a customer-facing leadership position. The Director and their team discover customer needs by observing operations, mapping processes and constraints, and interviewing stakeholders before proposing solutions. They shape evidence-based solutions that maximize customer outcomes while aligning with Hadrian’s capabilities and direction, and ensure commitments are grounded in first-principles engineering judgment and a real understanding of the factory.

The Director builds and develops a technical team, leads customer engagements from discovery through commitment, and hands clearly defined, executable work to Build Engineering. The role also develops repeatable scoping approaches and reusable solution templates to help the function scale.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Manufacturing, or a related engineering field and at least 8 years of manufacturing or manufacturing engineering experience, or at least 12 years of that experience without a degree.
• At least 3 years managing technical teams with direct reports.
• Experience in a customer-facing technical role, such as applications, field or sales engineering, program engineering, or consulting, including presenting technical recommendations to customer engineering and program leadership.
• Proven ability to lead a technical team in a customer-facing capacity and translate customer requirements into manufacturing reality.
• Ability to conduct structured customer discovery, including site visits, process mapping, and stakeholder interviews, and turn findings into a defined technical solution.
• Strong first-principles engineering judgment and ability to evaluate complex requirements before proposing or committing to solutions.
• Fluency reading and interpreting engineering drawings, specifications, GD&T, and manufacturing process requirements.
• Experience scoping or defining manufacturing work, such as DFM, make-versus-buy, process planning, tooling strategy, or production launch.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident, protected individual under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain required U.S. Department of State authorizations to comply with ITAR.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in aerospace, defense, maritime, or other high-complexity, high-mix manufacturing environments.
• Experience in both a scaling or startup environment and a mature manufacturing organization.
• Exposure to precision machining, castings, forgings, sheet metal, or additive processes across metals and composites.
• Experience working with sales, program management, or commercial teams on new customer engagements.
• Exposure to manufacturing software and automation, such as MES/ERP, CAM automation, robotics, or factory data systems, and experience feeding customer learnings into product and automation roadmaps.
• A track record of building repeatable systems and templates rather than solving each problem from scratch.

Responsibilities

• Represent Hadrian in day-to-day customer interactions and own technical relationships with customer engineering, program, and leadership teams.
• Run customer working sessions, present findings and recommendations, respond to questions and pushback, and provide clear, accurate written follow-up.
• Discover customer needs by observing operations, mapping processes and constraints, and interviewing stakeholders before proposing solutions.
• Develop solutions that maximize customer output while aligning with Hadrian’s capabilities and direction, favoring existing capabilities over new obligations where appropriate.
• Partner with Customer Programs as its forward deployed engineering arm, providing technical judgment from initial conversations through customer commitments.
• Build, manage, and develop a technical team that engages customers during new program scoping.
• Set team standards for discovery, opportunity evaluation, and credible, low-ego technical communication with customers.
• Own manufacturing scoping for new engagements by reviewing requirements, drawings, specifications, tolerances, materials, and volumes, and defining a manufacturable solution.
• Evaluate customer problems and constraints before proposing or committing to solutions.
• Ensure commitments are ready for Build Engineering delivery, including clear product definition, make-versus-buy posture, process capability requirements, and an executable manufacturing plan.
• Identify recurring customer patterns and turn them into repeatable scoping approaches and reusable solution templates.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans for employees.
• 401k.
• Relocation support may be provided in certain situations based on business need.
• Flexible vacation policy.
• Equity.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director