Director, NPI Operations Engineering

Skydio • San Mateo, CA

2d • $229,500 - $302,500

About The Position

The NPI Operations Engineering leader builds and leads the team responsible for manufacturing Skydio’s next generation of autonomous robotics—including drones, docks, and accessories—at its internal manufacturing facility in Hayward. The role delivers the processes, manufacturing expertise, and technology needed to manufacture these products. The organization combines Manufacturing Design Engineering and Supply Base Engineering and is focused on new product development.

The Director owns manufacturability for every new product, including assembly time, assembly yield, processes, fixtures, equipment, and supplier readiness. The team engages with Product Engineering from early architecture, carries products through EVT, DVT, and PVT, and hands them to Process Engineering for sustaining after they meet production-readiness criteria. The role sets the team’s direction, hires and develops engineers, and represents operations in product development. Sustaining engineering for products already in production is handled by Process Engineering.

The role leads NPI execution and manufacturing planning from prototype through PVT, develops and validates assembly processes and equipment, owns the capital budget for new-product assembly fixtures and equipment, and establishes the documentation and controls required for production handoff. It also develops core manufacturing technologies, leads supply base engineering for new products, and partners across Product Engineering, Manufacturing, Process Engineering, Test, Quality, Automation, and Supply Chain. The position is based at Skydio’s internal manufacturing facility in Hayward; the posting does not specify a workplace type.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing, Mechanical, Industrial, or Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, or a related technical field, or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of hands-on manufacturing engineering, NPI, or production engineering experience for complex electromechanical products, ideally including high-volume production.
• 4+ years leading engineering teams, including hiring and developing engineers and managers.
• Track record of taking multiple complex hardware products from early development into high-quality production.
• Deep expertise in DFM/DFA and experience influencing product design early in development.
• Hands-on fixture design experience and strong understanding of factory lines, assembly flow, and optimization.
• Experience with SPC, Lean, and Six Sigma.
• Experience working with suppliers on part qualification, process capability, and production readiness.
• Strong data skills, including setting and measuring yield, cycle-time, and cost targets and using data to drive decisions.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to collaborate from technician through executive levels.
• Strong project management, analytical skills, attention to detail, and independent judgment on complex, broad-scope problems.
• Comfort working in a fast-paced environment with evolving products and willingness to be on the floor during critical builds.
• Obtaining FAA Part 107 certification within the first 60 days of employment is strongly encouraged for all Skydio employees and required for certain positions.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with drones, aerospace, robotics, autonomous systems, or consumer electronics.
• Experience developing waterproofing and ingress-protection solutions, conformal coating, sealing, or adhesive processes.
• Experience with PCBAs, cameras and optics, gimbals, inertial sensors, motors, batteries, or composite structures.
• Experience working with contract manufacturers or managing NPI across in-house and outsourced production.

Responsibilities

• Own manufacturability and operations engineering development for new products across supply chain and in-house manufacturing.
• Drive design-for-manufacturing, assembly, and serviceability input from early product architecture.
• Set assembly time and yield targets, track performance at each build, provide operations sign-off at development gates, and escalate manufacturability risks and trade-offs.
• Use PFMEA, DFM reviews, and prototype yield, quality, and process data to align product design with manufacturing strategy; identify risks and drive mitigation to closure before production ramp.
• Own manufacturing plans for new products and major design changes from prototype through PVT, including assembly flow, line layout, fixtures, equipment, labor, cost, and capacity estimates.
• Coordinate engineering, design, and production validation builds with Product Engineering, Manufacturing, Test, and Quality; define production-readiness and handoff criteria and lead readiness reviews.
• Develop and improve Skydio’s NPI process; transfer products to Process Engineering with complete documentation, released tooling, and yield and cycle time at target.
• Develop and validate assembly processes, including mechanical assembly, electronics integration, adhesive bonding, fastening, soldering, and calibration.
• Design and qualify assembly fixtures, error-proofing, and assembly equipment such as dispense systems and torque-controlled drivers; own the capital budget for new-product assembly fixtures and equipment.
• Develop process specifications, control plans, component and assembly CTQs, inspections, inline tests, work instructions, and manufacturing BOMs before handoff.
• Use statistical process control, capability studies, and structured experiments to establish robust process windows.
• Develop a roadmap of core manufacturing technologies, including waterproofing and ingress protection, conformal coatings, sealing, and advanced bonding; partner with suppliers, vendors, and technology partners to qualify and industrialize them, and serve as their technical owner after launch.
• Lead supply base engineering for new products, including supplier selection, part qualification, supplier process readiness, component DFM, process capability, capacity, and quality.
• Own NPI automation at the process level during development and partner with Factory Automation for production handoff.
• Partner with Supply Chain and Quality on make-versus-buy decisions, supplier development, and capital business cases.
• Set the vision, strategy, and execution plan for NPI Operations Engineering; lead, hire, mentor, and develop manufacturing design engineers and supply base engineers.
• Integrate Manufacturing Design Engineering and Supply Base Engineering into one team with shared programs, goals, and ways of working.
• Set priorities and staffing across concurrent programs and SKUs, protect the team’s focus on new products, and ensure clean handoffs to Process Engineering for sustaining.
• Build an inclusive, diverse, engaged, high-performing team and a culture of technical rigor, ownership, and close partnership with design engineering.
• Work with Product Engineering leaders on airframes, propulsion, cameras, sensors, batteries, gimbals, and payloads; align with Manufacturing, Process Engineering, Test Engineering, and Automation Engineering on capacity, equipment, and handoffs.
• Communicate program status, risks, and manufacturability trade-offs to executive leadership.

Benefits

• Competitive base salary and equity in the form of stock options for regular, full-time employees.
• Comprehensive benefits package.
• Relocation assistance may be provided for eligible roles.
• Group health insurance plans for eligible regular, full-time employees.
• Paid vacation time, sick leave, and holiday pay.
• 401K savings plan.

What This Job Offers

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