Manufacturing Applications Engineer

Foundry Robotics•Emeryville, CA

3d•$150,000 - $250,000•Onsite

About The Position

Foundry Robotics is hiring a Manufacturing Applications Engineer to bridge customer manufacturing needs with the factory’s capabilities. The role evaluates whether and how customer products can be built, and at what cost, carrying technical assessments from discovery through a signed purchase order. The engineer translates drawings, bills of materials, and production volumes into design-for-manufacturability reviews, process flows, cost models, and proposals, then provides manufacturing with a complete technical handoff. This is Foundry’s first person in the role, with responsibility for establishing how the company scopes and estimates programs and automating repeatable parts of the process. Work includes estimating robotic assembly without established industry benchmarks, quickly turning drawing packages into process flows and estimates, defining AS9100-compliant build standards that work for startup customers, and using lessons learned to improve FoundryOS. The position is 100% in-person at the Emeryville, California office and requires travel to customer sites across the United States 30–40% of the time, including multi-day visits during pilot builds.

Requirements

5–10 years of experience in manufacturing engineering, NPI, or applications engineering, including at least 2 years in a customer-facing role at a contract manufacturer, EMS provider, or hardware supplier.
Experience estimating real programs from drawing packages and bills of materials through process flows, labor estimates, and cost models that hold up when parts arrive.
Hands-on familiarity with mechanical and electromechanical assembly, wire harness build, and associated testing and inspection.
Working proficiency in 3D CAD, such as SolidWorks, Onshape, or equivalent, sufficient to review customer designs and provide credible DFM and DFA feedback.
Ability to communicate with engineering managers and VPs in conference rooms and on shop floors, and to write clear, fast proposals and statements of work.
Experience in a formal quality system such as AS9100, ISO 9001, or IATF 16949, including defining build standards with revision control.
Must be a U.S. person (citizen, permanent resident, or protected individual) as defined by ITAR and EAR.
Willingness to travel to customer sites 30–40% of the time, including multi-day onsite visits during a pilot build.
Bias toward action and resourceful problem solving without sacrificing rigor.

Nice To Haves

Tier 1 or EMS supplier experience serving robotics, aerospace, defense, automotive, or EV customers.
Experience taking a vehicle or robot program from prototype to volume production.
Experience with MES or ERP systems and interest in automating estimation.

Responsibilities

Lead discovery calls and customer visits with the go-to-market team, qualifying program fit before committing engineering resources.
Own technical intake, including drawings, bills of materials, volumes, materials, tolerances, test and certification requirements, and export-control status such as ITAR, EAR, and CUI.
Conduct DFM and DFA reviews and provide written findings that customers can act on and engineers can build to.
Provide technical inputs for quotes, including process steps, labor and cycle-time estimates, tooling, supplier quotes, lead times, and non-recurring engineering (NRE).
Scope design-services engagements such as DFM, DFA, and DFRA, defining deliverables, milestones, and engineering-hour estimates for the go-to-market team to use in statements of work.
Define build standards with customers before purchase orders, including frozen revisions, deviation processes, and customer-furnished material, while working with Quality to maintain AS9100 compliance.
Hand off a complete technical package when a purchase order is received and remain the customer's technical point of contact through first-article and pilot delivery.
Develop reusable technical intake forms, process-estimate templates, and cost models.
Feed customer needs into FoundryOS and robotic-cell roadmaps.