Production Manufacturing Assistant

About the role

Shinkei is scaling production of our Poseidon robotic systems and is seeking a Production Manufacturing Assistant to support inventory management, production operations, procurement, vendor coordination, and process improvement.

Responsibilities

• Support inventory receiving, inspection, organization, audits, and inventory accuracy.
• Improve inventory systems through automation, scripting, and workflow optimization.
• Develop and maintain documentation, SOPs, and standardized manufacturing processes.
• Receive, label, inspect, and stock incoming parts and materials.
• Cook up RMAs, vendor returns, replacements, and quality issues.
• Investigate part shortages, inventory discrepancies, and shipping issues.
• Prepare kits and verify material availability before production builds.
• Stage parts, tools, and materials to support manufacturing operations.
• Reconcile BOMs against inventory usage and identify discrepancies.
• Build dashboards and trackers for inventory levels, shortages, purchasing status, and production progress.
• Collaborate with Engineering, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain teams to improve material flow and production efficiency.
• Maintain shared equipment, workspaces, and production support areas within the Factory.
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, organization, and manufacturing workflows.
• Facilitate the transition to Supply Chain and Inventory OS systems.

Requirements

• 0–3 years of experience in manufacturing, operations, supply chain, engineering support, or a related field.
• Degree or equivalent experience in Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Computer Science, Business, or a related discipline preferred.
• Comfort with spreadsheets, data tracking, basic analytics, and script development.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Comfort working in a fast-paced engineering or manufacturing environment.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks, prioritize work, and follow through independently.
• Strong communication skills and willingness to collaborate cross-functionally.
• Interest in production management, inventory systems, manufacturing operations, or process improvement.
• Willingness to be hands-on- this role includes time on the floor organizing parts intake, kitting, and supporting builds and additional tasks vital to a growing startup.

Qualifications

• Experience with writing scripts or automation tools (Python, Apps Script, SQL, Zapier, etc.)
• Improving or integrating inventory, ERP, or app-based systems
• Excel / Google Sheets (pivot tables, lookups, dashboards)
• Manufacturing, robotics, hardware, or engineering environments
• Vendor coordination, purchasing workflows, or material planning
• Data visualization or reporting (Power BI, Smartsheet, etc.)