Lead Engineer - Prototype Build

American Turbines•San Francisco, CA

1d•$200,000 - $250,000•Onsite

About The Position

American Turbines is designing small modular gas turbines for distributed power generation. The Lead Engineer will be responsible for the timeline of the company's first turbine, guiding it from its current state to a fully built and tested demonstrator. This role involves integrating various engineering workstreams (combustion, aerodynamics, mechanical, controls, power electronics) into a single execution plan and ensuring accountability for its success. The Lead Engineer will set the schedule, break down tasks, delegate them to the relevant engineers, and manage daily and weekly engineering meetings. They will track progress against promises and actively participate in the build process, including fixturing parts, running tests, and managing vendors. Additionally, the Lead engineer will contribute directly to engineering tasks when needed, such as debugging test rigs, reviewing designs, or taking on tasks when team members are blocked. This is a hands-on role requiring presence in the shop as much as in planning meetings, with leadership earned through both strategic planning and practical involvement.

Requirements

Track record of taking hardware from 0 to 1 and shipping it, ideally in a small, fast-moving hardware team.
Judgment to build a realistic timeline.
Discipline to hold a team to a schedule.
Willingness to get hands dirty when the schedule calls for it.
Experience leading engineers who are more senior or specialized.
Ability to earn trust rather than assume it.
Default to build-and-test over simulation.
Ability to identify normal schedule slips versus real problems.
Effectiveness at quick check-ins.
Ability to know when a two-minute conversation is enough to unblock someone and when a problem requires deeper involvement.

Nice To Haves

Direct turbomachinery experience.

Responsibilities

Own the timeline for the first turbine build, from current state to a fully built and tested demonstrator.
Develop a single execution plan integrating all engineering workstreams.
Set the schedule, break it into tasks, and delegate tasks to engineers.
Run daily and weekly engineering meetings.
Track progress against the promised schedule.
Actively participate in the build process, including fixturing parts, running tests, and chasing vendors.
Pick up engineering work directly when the team needs it, such as debugging test rigs or sanity-checking designs.
Take on tasks directly when team members are stuck.