Lead Manufacturing Engineer

TAR•San Francisco, CA

12d•Onsite

About The Position

TAR builds its own construction robots to install solar at gigawatt scale, co-designed with the racking system they put in the ground. Those machines have to be assembled to a repeatable standard and built to survive austere field conditions before they ship, and the line that produces them does not exist yet. As Lead Manufacturing Engineer, you own that line. You take TAR's robotics hardware from early low-rate production to a repeatable, higher-volume operation, owning DFM, tooling and fixtures, quality control, root-cause and corrective action, vendor management, and standard work along the way. This is a senior, hands-on role based at our San Francisco robotics facility, working shoulder to shoulder with the engineers and technicians who design and build the machines.

Requirements

5-7+ years in manufacturing engineering, with direct experience standing up or scaling an assembly line for complex electromechanical or robotic hardware.
Demonstrated experience across the full manufacturing value chain: DFM, tooling, process development, quality planning, and documentation.
Hands-on experience personally building or assembling hardware, including machining, fabrication, wiring, and assembly, rather than process design from a desk alone.
Experience implementing quality control systems and driving root-cause and corrective action in a production environment.
Track record managing vendors and suppliers for manufacturing inputs and outsourced processes.
Comfortable working with limited resources and tight timelines, standing the line up while it is still coming together rather than running one that already exists.

Nice To Haves

Experience manufacturing hardware intended for austere, field, or defense-adjacent operating environments.
Experience with robotics or complex electromechanical systems specifically, rather than general consumer electronics.
Familiarity with Lean/Six Sigma or formal quality systems such as ISO or AS9100.
Prior experience building a manufacturing team or line from near-zero, rather than improving one that already runs.

Responsibilities

Own the buildout and scale-up of a full assembly, QC, and manufacturing line for TAR's robotics hardware, taking it from early low-rate production to a repeatable, higher-volume operation.
Lead Design for Manufacturability reviews with engineering, driving design changes upstream that cut cost, assembly time, and failure modes before hardware reaches the line.
Define and implement quality control processes and inspection criteria at each stage of assembly, ensuring hardware built for austere field conditions meets reliability and durability standards before it ships.
Design, select, and qualify the tooling, fixtures, and test equipment needed to run the line, working hands-on with technicians to debug and refine processes in real time.
Own root-cause analysis and corrective action for build and field failures, feeding fixes back into process and design to prevent recurrence.
Manage supplier and vendor relationships for manufacturing inputs, materials, and outsourced processes, holding partners accountable for quality and schedule.
Build and document standard work, process travelers, and training materials so the line scales with new hires without losing quality.
Partner with hardware engineering leadership to translate the product roadmap into manufacturing capacity and staffing plans.