Senior Manager, Equipment Engineering

Lunar Energy•Mountain View, CA

11h•Hybrid

About The Position

The Equipment Engineering team at Lunar Energy is being developed as the technical owner of all capital equipment, automation, and test systems that build our products. Working in close partnership with Manufacturing Engineering, our contract manufacturing (CM) partners, and equipment vendors, this team specifies, integrates, commissions, and sustains the machines and tester platforms that drive yield, throughput, and cost across our global manufacturing footprint. We are looking for a hands-on, technically deep, highly collaborative leader to build and run this discipline as we scale production across multiple CMs. Lunar Energy was founded to transition homes to 100% clean energy—making our electricity greener, our air cleaner and our energy more safe, secure and reliable for all. We’re a fast-growing, global company building the world’s best clean energy products to electrify all homes and connect communities to form clean, resilient virtual power plants.

Requirements

BS in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Mechatronics, Controls, or Industrial); MS preferred.
8+ years working hands-on with manufacturing capital equipment in a high-mix or high-volume environment, including hardware, controls, and software.
3+ years leading equipment, controls, automation, or test engineering teams — with a track record of growing technical depth and accountability in the team.
Deep experience with controls and automation: PLC programming (Allen-Bradley/Rockwell, Siemens, Beckhoff, or similar), HMI development, robotics (FANUC/ABB/Universal Robots/Yaskawa), vision systems (Cognex/Keyence), and motion/servo control.
Experience with laser welding, leak test, dispense, conveyance
Demonstrated ownership of equipment commissioning and ramp — FAT/SAT execution, capability studies (Cpk/Ppk), OEE recovery, and documentation rigor.
Strong experience with manufacturing testers for PCBA and electromechanical assemblies— functional test (FCT), in-circuit test (ICT), end-of-line test (EOL) — including troubleshooting, maintenance, calibration, and tester software stewardship.
Proven sustaining engineering chops: preventive/predictive maintenance, data collection and tracking of line KPIs, and cycle time optimization.
Working knowledge of machine safety and compliance frameworks (NFPA 79, ISO 13849, ISO 12100, OSHA, ANSI B11, ANSI/RIA R15.06, and ANSI Z244.1) and the ability to drive risk assessments and remediation.
Comfort working across multiple CMs and geographies, including international travel; able to operate effectively in a fast-paced, ambiguity-tolerant environment
Strong written and verbal communication; able to translate equipment performance and risk into concise updates for executive leadership.

Nice To Haves

You are passionate about accelerating the adoption of renewables and improving our energy infrastructure.
Experience with power electronics manufacturing such as batteries and inverters is a plus.

Responsibilities

Provide technical leadership and people management to a team of equipment engineers and contractors responsible for the design, install, commissioning, and sustaining of capital equipment across multiple CMs.
Own automation equipment from a technical standpoint — including PLC/HMI logic, robotics integration, vision systems, motion control, safety circuits, and tester software — from FAT through SAT, ramp, and steady state.
Lead Factory Acceptance Tests (FAT) and Site Acceptance Tests (SAT), capability studies (Cpk/Ppk), and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) ramp plans to bring new equipment to production-ready performance.
Work with mechanical engineers on your team to develop and deploy all mechanical fixtures, enclosures and other items needed for manual and automated production lines
Work with PCBA manufacturing engineers on your team to implement equipment improvements such as profile optimization, stencil/fixture improvement, and custom tools for assembly
Own troubleshooting, maintenance strategy, and continuous improvement of PCBA and assembly level manufacturing testers (functional, in-circuit, end-of-line) including failure analysis, root cause, corrective action, and software/firmware updates.
Define and execute a sustaining engineering program across CMs: preventive maintenance plans, reliability improvements, data collection and analytics, downtime reduction, spare parts strategy, and obsolescence management.
Ensure equipment safety and regulatory compliance — risk assessments, safety circuit design, NFPA 79, ISO 13849, ISO 12100, OSHA, ANSI B11, ANSI/RIA R15.06, and ANSI Z244.1 conformance — and partner with EHS and CM teams on documentation and audits.
Collaborate on DFMEA and PFMEA reviews with Manufacturing Engineering, signing off on the equipment-related elements (fixturing, automation, test access, ergonomics, and serviceability).
Provide on-site technical leadership during equipment install, run-at-rate, and ramp — with travel averaging 30%, weighted toward equipment install and ramp windows at our CMs.
Partner with Engineering, Test, Quality, Supplier Quality, and Manufacturing Operations to resolve equipment- and tester-driven yield, throughput, and quality issues.
Present to executive leadership on equipment readiness, install/ramp status, OEE trends, and sustaining performance throughout the program lifecycle.

Benefits

Competitive base pay
Equity in a fast-growing company
Employee stock program
Medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and dependents
Flexible Paid Time Off
10 paid holidays
Tax deferred 401(k) plan
Paid parental leave for all full time employees including 12 weeks paid parental leave for the birthing mother and 6 weeks paid parental leave for the non-birthing parent
Subsidized EV charging
Pre-tax commuter benefits