Head of Manufacturing Engineering

Foundry Robotics • Emeryville, CA

9d • $200,000 - $350,000 • Onsite

About The Position

Foundry Robotics is building an AI-native robotics manufacturing company that deploys advanced assembly and production capabilities for robotics companies and national-security-critical hardware. The Head of Manufacturing Engineering will set Foundry’s technical manufacturing automation roadmap and build the teams responsible for carrying it out. Reporting to the Chief Manufacturing Officer, this leader will establish and lead Manufacturing Engineering and Process Engineering. Manufacturing Engineering owns customer DFM/DFA, line and cell design, tooling, automation, and new product launches. Process Engineering owns process optimization, standard work, yield, and cycle time across programs.

The role centers on developing a flexible factory that can handle different customer products and production volumes without rebuilding the factory for each program. This includes shared-station assembly lines, foundation-model-driven automation, autonomous material movement, and a factory layout designed to support these systems. The Head will determine what to build and in what order, and will participate directly in on-floor implementation. The position is 100% in person at Foundry Robotics’ Emeryville, California office.

Requirements

• At least 12 years of manufacturing engineering experience with complex electromechanical hardware in automotive, aerospace, robotics, or consumer electronics at scale, including at least 5 years leading engineers.
• Experience launching at least one high-volume or high-mix assembly line end to end, including layout, stations, tooling, conveyance, line balance, and ramp.
• Experience building an automation program and evaluating where a robot, fixture, or person is the right solution.
• Hands-on DFM/DFA experience, including working with customers or design teams to change parts so they can be manufactured.
• Strong process fundamentals, including PFMEA, control plans, capability studies, standard work, takt, and OEE; ability to lead Kaizen activities and capital expenditure reviews.
• Experience hiring and growing an engineering team from a handful of people to dozens.
• Ability to work effectively at a desk and on the shop floor in a company that is still building its factory.
• Bias toward action, scrappy problem solving, and moving quickly without sacrificing rigor.
• Must be a U.S. person (U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)) due to ITAR and export control requirements.

Nice To Haves

• Experience applying ML-based robotics, such as learned grasping, vision-guided assembly, or foundation-model policies, in production, or close partnership with a team that has.
• AMR/AGV or autonomous intralogistics deployment experience.
• Experience in a multi-product or contract-manufacturing environment where changeover and flexibility were constraints.
• AS9100 or ITAR-controlled production exposure.
• Electromechanical assembly experience with robots, drones, or defense hardware.

Responsibilities

• Own the multi-year manufacturing automation roadmap, determining which operations to automate, in what sequence, and with which technologies; justify decisions using takt, capital expenditure, and risk.
• Design and launch a flexible assembly line that runs multiple customer products using shared stations, fixtures, and conveyance, with changeovers measured in hours rather than weeks.
• Partner with software and robotics teams to deploy foundation-model-driven automation for assembly, inspection, kitting, and material handling; assess where learned automation is preferable to fixed automation.
• Specify and deploy autonomous material movement, including AMR/AGV fleets, kitting, and line-side replenishment.
• Own the Emeryville facility’s factory layout, including flow, cell boundaries, material routes, utilities, and ITAR-segregated areas, in collaboration with Facilities.
• Build the DFM/DFA practice to help customers move from prototypes to production at rate and yield, involving engineers in customer discovery and quoting to identify cost and quality issues before purchase orders.
• Build and lead the Process Engineering team, responsible for standard work, cycle time, line balance, yield, PFMEA, control plans, tooling and fixtures, and continuous improvement.
• Own new product introduction from customer handoff through stable production, including pilot builds, PFMEA, control plans, work instructions, capability studies, and ramp.
• Hire, develop, and lead manufacturing and process engineers, and establish engineering culture on the factory floor.

Benefits

• Equity-based compensation for eligible roles, subject to Board of Director approval.
• Comprehensive health coverage.
• Dental coverage.
• Vision coverage.
• Generous PTO.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed