Head of Hardware Manufacturing Operations

Applied Intuition • Sunnyvale, CA

2d • Onsite

About The Position

Applied Intuition is seeking a Head of Hardware Manufacturing Operations to establish and build its hardware operations department from the ground up. The role owns the full hardware manufacturing operations function, including the selection and management of domestic and international manufacturing suppliers and global supply chains. It leads the delivery of physical AI hardware products serving automotive, trucking, defense, construction, mining, and agriculture sectors.

The role recruits, scales, and leads a multidisciplinary organization of Operations Program Managers, Manufacturing Engineers, and Reliability and Quality Engineers. It is responsible for driving new product introduction, design for excellence, quality assurance, and mass-production setups, as well as supplier selection, yield optimization, contract negotiation, and factory audits.

Applied Intuition is an in-office company. Full-time employees are expected to primarily work from an Applied Intuition office five days per week, with flexibility for occasional remote work and schedule adjustments. This expectation does not apply to contractor positions.

Requirements

• BS or MS degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Supply Chain Management, or a related technical field.
• 12+ years of experience in hardware operations and supply chain management.
• 7+ years of direct experience building and leading engineering and operations teams, including OPMs, MEs, and Quality/Reliability Engineers.
• Experience managing consumer electronics manufacturing and experience in one or more of automotive, trucking, defense, construction, mining, or agriculture.
• Deep technical expertise in contract manufacturing management, printed circuit board assembly (PCBA), final assembly, test execution (FATE/ATE), and yield optimization.
• Hands-on proficiency managing global supplier pipelines, bill of materials (BOM) costing, vendor audits, and quality control systems (ISO 9001/IATF 16949).

Nice To Haves

• Experience shipping complex hardware products from early prototyping (0 to 1) through high-volume production.
• Deep domain experience handling dual-use or defense hardware operational compliance and export requirements.
• Track record of working directly with global tier-1 suppliers and contract manufacturers across domestic and international regions.

Responsibilities

• Own the full hardware manufacturing operations function and build the department from 0 to 1.
• Select, manage, and drive domestic and international manufacturing suppliers and global supply chains.
• Recruit, scale, and lead a high-performing team of Operations Program Managers, Manufacturing Engineers, and Reliability and Quality Engineers.
• Drive NPI, DFx, quality assurance, and mass-production setups for physical AI hardware across diverse industries.
• Oversee committed hardware product deliverables across automotive, trucking, defense, construction, mining, and agriculture.
• Manage global supplier selection, yield optimization, contract negotiation, and factory audit processes.

What This Job Offers

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