Coatings and Materials Manufacturing Engineer

About the Role

We’re building humanoid robots that work in home—doing the chores, handling the tasks, and giving people their time back. To do this right, we have to solve robotics, AI, and manufacturing at the same time, at scale, in a form factor that has to be safe enough to live with your family. If you’re inspired by this mission, you’ll thrive here.

NEO is our flagship—a home robot designed to move, learn, and operate in the real world alongside real people. We’re not demoing it; we’re shipping it. This is a hands-on, floor-facing manufacturing engineering role requiring substantial industrial production experience.

About the Team

Our Materials Engineering team researches, develops, and industrializes advanced polymers, elastomers, synthetic fibers, and composite materials that improve robot performance, durability, and manufacturability. Working closely with Mechanical Engineering, Hardware Engineering, Manufacturing, and external material suppliers, the team transforms cutting-edge material innovations into scalable production technologies.

Responsibilities

• Own the industrialization of advanced coatings, load-bearing fiber materials, and other advanced materials that enable the next generation of humanoid robots.
• Lead manufacturing development and scale-up, including equipment selection and commissioning, production-area design, line layout, material flow, definition of technical qualifications, development of SOPs, work instructions, and training of production operators.
• Ensure new material technologies transition efficiently from laboratory development into reliable, high-volume production by collaborating across research, manufacturing, quality, and supplier ecosystems.
• Lead scale-up from laboratory and pilot to required production rate, using capacity models, cycle time, labor content, first-pass yield, scrap, equipment uptime, and cost to guide process, equipment, and automation decisions.
• Develop, validate, and release repeatable manufacturing processes for coatings, load-bearing fiber systems, and other advanced materials, with defined process windows, standard operating conditions, and production-readiness criteria.
• Use DOE, SPC, process-capability analysis, PFMEA, structured root-cause analysis, and corrective action to improve first-pass yield, throughput, safety, quality, and cost.
• Define critical-to-quality characteristics, measurement and inspection methods, control plans, and acceptance criteria that ensure material and product requirements are met consistently.
• Specify, source, and commission production equipment, tooling, fixtures, material-handling systems, and automation solutions that support scale, operator safety, and maintainability.
• Optimize manufacturing processes to improve quality, reduce cost, and increase production efficiency.
• Establish comprehensive technical documentation systems including process specifications, SOPs, work instructions, validation protocols and reports, training materials, production records, and safety documentation.

Requirements

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Polymer Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
• Minimum 3 years of industry experience in materials, chemical or coating manufacturing, or a related field.
• Hands-on experience developing, validating, and scaling manufacturing processes for at least one of the following: coatings, elastomers, polymers, synthetic fibers, or composite materials.
• Demonstrated experience transitioning materials from research and development into high-volume manufacturing.
• Strong expertise in chemical engineering, polymer science, or materials engineering.
• Excellent understanding of advanced manufacturing processes in at least one of the following areas: coatings, chemicals, polymers, elastomers, synthetic fibers, or composite materials.
• Demonstrated manufacturing scale-up judgment: translating a lab method into equipment, tooling, process controls, staffing, capacity, quality controls, and standard work.
• Strong process-development and validation skills, with working knowledge of DOE, SPC, process capability, PFMEA, and structured root-cause methods.
• Ability to define equipment requirements, design tooling and fixtures, manage vendors, and commission production equipment while balancing safety, quality, throughput, and cost.
• Hands-on, data-driven manufacturing mindset; comfortable troubleshooting on the production floor and moving between technical design discussions and factory operations.
• Ownership mindset with strong cross-functional communication skills and the ability to drive new material technologies from concept through stable production.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills including root-cause analysis and corrective action for material or process failures, and use of manufacturing data to improve yield and throughput.
• Working knowledge of laboratory and production safety procedures, chemical regulations, and material compliance standards.

Preferred Skills

• Experience manufacturing materials for robotics, aerospace, automotive, medical devices, or other advanced hardware industries.
• Experience supporting NPI, validation builds, first-article inspections, supplier or contract-manufacturer readiness, and production line launches.
• Experience applying Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or other structured continuous-improvement methods to improve process capability, yield, and cost.
• Knowledge of process optimization, automation, and manufacturing yield improvement.
• Experience with batch processes, roll-to-roll or continuous coating, and in-line or at-line inspections.
• Experience implementing semi-automated or automated equipment, material handling, sensors, vision systems, or production data collection.
• Familiarity with DFM, PLM, ERP, or MES systems and manufacturing documentation workflows.

What We Look For

Team members at 1X who thrive here are builders. They move fast, own their work completely, and treat time like it's the one thing you can't get back. They say what they mean, finish what they start, and hold themselves to a standard before anyone has to ask. We push each other to be better, and we do it with honesty and respect.

Successful coatings and materials manufacturing engineers at 1X combine deep scientific expertise with practical engineering execution. They enjoy solving multidisciplinary challenges where chemistry, materials science, manufacturing, and robotics intersect. They move comfortably between the laboratory and production line, translating material requirements into capable processes, equipment, controls, and standard work. They collaborate closely across Engineering, Quality, Production, and Supply Chain and remain accountable after launch until safety, quality, yield, and throughput are stable.

Pay

Compensation range: $200,000 - $248,000 salary based on experience, plus equity.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Generous paid time off, company holidays, and parental leave.
• 401(k) plan with company match (100% on the first 3% of contributions, 50% on the next 2%).
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) and Health Savings Accounts (HSA) options.
• Commuter benefits (transit and parking).
• Short-term and long-term disability, and life insurance.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for mental health, financial, and personal support.
• Onsite snacks and catered lunches.