Industrial Engineer – Effectors

HIKINEX•Los Angeles, CA

41d•$110,000 - $160,000•Onsite

About The Position

An advanced aerospace and defense technology company is seeking an Industrial Engineer to help architect and scale next-generation production systems for high-volume autonomous and interceptor platforms. This role is focused on factory design, production system architecture, capacity planning, and manufacturing scale-up. The ideal candidate has experience building production systems from the ground up and understands how to optimize manufacturing operations for throughput, cost, quality, and scalability. This is a highly hands-on and high-ownership role where you’ll help shape manufacturing strategy from early prototype builds through sustained high-rate production.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related technical discipline
5+ years of experience in factory design, production system optimization, manufacturing scale-up, or industrial engineering
Experience building or supporting high-rate manufacturing environments
Strong understanding of: Lean manufacturing, Capacity planning, Value stream mapping, Takt time and cycle time analysis, OEE measurement, Line balancing, Throughput optimization
Experience supporting production ramp or greenfield manufacturing build-outs
Experience developing production rate models using Excel, Python, VBA, simulation tools, or similar platforms
Comfortable working in fast-paced startup or development-stage manufacturing environments
U.S. citizenship required; ability to obtain and maintain a DoD security clearance required

Nice To Haves

Aerospace, defense, automotive, robotics, semiconductor, or other high-volume manufacturing industries
Production systems supporting complex electromechanical hardware
Factory simulation or digital manufacturing tools such as: FlexSim, AnyLogic, Arena, Simulink
ERP, MES, or PLM integration experience
High-rate automated assembly or robotics manufacturing
Experience scaling manufacturing operations from prototype through production
Startup or greenfield factory build-out experience
Contract manufacturing and supplier industrialization exposure

Responsibilities

Design scalable factory layouts optimized for flow, throughput, takt time, and operational efficiency
Develop production cell concepts for manual, semi-automated, and automated assembly environments
Build value stream maps and future-state production workflows
Define workstation layouts, labor allocation models, and material flow strategies
Design inventory flow concepts including kitting, supermarkets, and point-of-use systems
Support production facility build-outs, line expansion planning, and manufacturing infrastructure development
Build detailed production rate and throughput models tied to manufacturing demand forecasts
Analyze: Takt time, Cycle time, Throughput, Bottlenecks, Labor efficiency, Capacity constraints
Develop scaling strategies for pilot production, low-rate builds, and future high-volume manufacturing
Create multi-scenario production plans supporting rate ramps and supplier scaling
Identify manufacturing readiness risks and mitigation strategies
Implement lean manufacturing principles across production workflows
Drive line balancing, waste reduction, and flow optimization initiatives
Conduct time studies and labor productivity analysis
Support OEE tracking and production performance measurement systems
Analyze yield, throughput, cycle time, and rework metrics to improve operational efficiency
Help develop standardized work instructions and scalable manufacturing processes
Partner closely with manufacturing engineering, supply chain, facilities, quality, and operations teams
Participate in design-for-producibility reviews and manufacturing trade studies
Support make-versus-buy decisions and contract manufacturing evaluations
Assist with supplier industrialization and manufacturing readiness assessments
Provide hands-on support during prototype builds, production ramp events, and early manufacturing operations