Head of Manufacturing Engineering Automation & Controls

About the Role

We are seeking a Head of Manufacturing Engineering to lead the development and scale-up of our manufacturing systems for high-volume small unmanned aircraft production. This leader will own the manufacturing engineering organization responsible for translating product designs into robust, automated, production-ready manufacturing systems capable of operating reliably at scale. A major focus of this role will be factory automation, controls engineering, equipment development, and manufacturing systems architecture.

You will build and lead a multidisciplinary organization spanning manufacturing engineering, automation and controls, equipment engineering, process development, and production industrialization. The ideal candidate has experience scaling complex electromechanical products from early production into high-rate manufacturing, with a strong understanding of how automation, controls, data, equipment design, and process engineering come together to create a world-class production system. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who can establish the long-term manufacturing strategy while also driving execution on the factory floor.

Responsibilities

• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing Manufacturing Engineering organization supporting production from new product introduction through high-volume manufacturing.
• Define the manufacturing engineering strategy, technical roadmap, organizational structure, and capabilities required to support significant production growth.
• Partner closely with Design Engineering, Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, Test Engineering, and Product teams to ensure products are designed for manufacturability, automation, testability, and scale.
• Establish manufacturing standards, design reviews, equipment specifications, process qualification methodologies, and production-readiness criteria.
• Lead the architecture, development, deployment, and lifecycle management of automated manufacturing equipment and production systems.
• Build strong internal capabilities in controls engineering, PLC programming, industrial robotics, motion control, machine vision, industrial networking, sensors, servo systems, safety systems, and automated material handling.
• Establish controls and automation standards that enable equipment to be deployed, supported, replicated, and scaled rapidly across production.
• Develop strategies for balancing manual, semi-automated, and fully automated manufacturing based on production rate, process capability, economics, and product maturity.
• Establish disciplined equipment development processes including requirements definition, design reviews, FAT/SAT, commissioning, process validation, and production acceptance.
• Partner with external automation integrators and equipment suppliers while developing critical automation and controls capabilities internally.
• Build a highly instrumented manufacturing environment where equipment and processes generate actionable production data.
• Partner with software and data teams to connect manufacturing equipment with MES, traceability, quality, and factory data systems.
• Develop automated collection and analysis of process parameters, equipment states, cycle times, downtime, quality results, and genealogy.
• Use manufacturing data to identify process drift, predict failures, improve yield, and accelerate root-cause analysis.

Requirements

• 12+ years of experience in manufacturing engineering, automation engineering, controls engineering, equipment engineering, or related disciplines.
• 5+ years of experience leading engineering organizations responsible for manufacturing systems or factory automation.
• Demonstrated experience scaling complex electromechanical products into high-volume production.
• Experience in aerospace, automotive, robotics, industrial automation, electronics, battery, semiconductor, or another highly engineered manufacturing environment; aerospace experience strongly preferred.
• Deep understanding of manufacturing automation and controls, including several of the following:
  • PLC and industrial controls architectures
  • Robotics and robotic cells
  • Servo and motion-control systems
  • Machine vision
  • Industrial networking and communications
  • Sensors and instrumentation
  • Automated test and inspection
  • Machine safety systems
  • SCADA/HMI systems
  • Manufacturing equipment software
• Experience developing custom production equipment from concept through production deployment.
• Experience developing capital equipment strategies and managing significant CapEx programs.
• Strong understanding of DFM/DFA and the ability to influence product architecture to enable manufacturing scale and automation.
• Experience operating in environments requiring rigorous configuration management, traceability, process control, and quality systems.
• Demonstrated ability to recruit, develop, and lead multidisciplinary technical organizations.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to move between factory-level strategy and detailed engineering problems.
• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Mechatronics, Robotics, or a related technical field.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience scaling aerospace or similarly complex hardware from low-rate initial production to hundreds or thousands of units per month.
• Experience building an automation and controls engineering function from the ground up.
• Experience designing manufacturing systems for products combining mechanical assemblies, electronics, motors, sensors, batteries, composites, or other complex electromechanical technologies.
• Familiarity with aerospace manufacturing and quality frameworks such as AS9100.
• Experience with MES, equipment connectivity, manufacturing data infrastructure, and Industry 4.0 architectures.
• Experience with automated inspection, machine vision, robotic assembly, dispensing, fastening, material handling, or automated test systems.
• Experience developing standardized automation platforms that can be replicated across multiple production lines or factories.
• Experience working in fast-growth hardware organizations where product design and manufacturing systems evolve simultaneously.
• Master's degree in an engineering discipline or equivalent technical experience.
• Obtaining FAA Part 107 certification within the first 60 days of employment is strongly encouraged.

Pay

The annual base salary range for this position is $196,000-$257,000. Compensation will vary based on factors including skill level, proficiencies, transferable knowledge, and experience. Relocation assistance may also be provided for eligible roles.

Benefits

• Competitive base salaries and equity in the form of stock options.
• Comprehensive group health insurance plans.
• Paid vacation time, sick leave, and holiday pay.
• 401K savings plan.