Sr. R&D Manager - Mechanical Products - 834

Location: Broomfield, CO

All applicants for placement in safety-sensitive positions will be required to submit to a pre-employment drug test. Due to contractual requirements, candidates must be a U.S. Person (citizen, permanent resident, asylee, or refugee) and must not be a national of the People's Republic of China or Russia unless also a U.S. citizen.

About the role

Lead the development and scale-up of advanced mechanical and vacuum-based hardware systems supporting next-generation quantum computing platforms. This role owns the transition from R&D prototypes to repeatable, manufacturable products, including cryogenic systems, ultra-high vacuum (UHV) hardware, physics packages, and Magneto-Optical Trap (MOT) systems. You will lead a multidisciplinary team and partner across engineering, product technology, and manufacturing to deliver high-performance hardware with predictable yield, reliability, and operational readiness.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end development of mechanical product systems from concept through pilot build and production readiness.
• Own technical direction for cryogenic systems, UHV hardware, physics packages, and MOT subsystems.
• Provide hands-on leadership for assembly, validation, troubleshooting, and performance optimization of complex hardware systems.
• Define and enforce design-for-x (DFX), manufacturability, and reliability standards.
• Drive transition from R&D to production with emphasis on yield improvement, repeatability, throughput, cycle time, cost, and scalability; refine designs and processes to enable predictable, high-quality manufacturing outcomes.
• Establish and drive manufacturing readiness using a structured phase-gate approach aligned to increasing manufacturing maturity (MRL Progression).
• Own scope, schedule, budget, and risk management across multiple hardware programs.
• Develop and execute integrated plans with milestones, resource allocation, and prioritization across competing programs.
• Partner tightly with program management and product teams to ensure delivery to commitments.
• Define and drive key operational metrics including yield, defect pareto, downtime, process capability, and cycle time to enable data-driven decision making.
• Own accountability for delivery across technical performance, manufacturing readiness, cost, and schedule.
• Lead, grow, and mentor managers, mechanical engineers, physicists, and technicians; build scalable organizational capability aligned to product roadmap and production growth.
• Establish clear accountability for technical execution and performance outcomes.
• Drive cross-functional alignment across product technology, manufacturing engineering, quality, materials & process engineering, and supply chain to ensure successful product realization.
• Define clear ownership and handoffs between design engineering and manufacturing to ensure seamless transition to production.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree (minimum required).
• Minimum 8+ years of experience in a high-technology R&D and/or low-volume, high-complexity manufacturing environment.
• Minimum 4+ years of experience leading technical teams (direct management or program leadership).

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in physics, engineering, or a related technical field (preferred).
• Experience with mechanical design/assembly.
• Demonstrated data analysis leading to data-driven decision making.
• Demonstrated experience working successfully with technicians.
• Small-scale manufacturing experience.
• Direct experience with people-management in a technical industry.
• 3+ years of industry experience.
• Experience in complex task management (cost, schedule, risk/opportunity, etc.).
• A track record of high-technology (engineering or physical science) development.
• Strong organizational and leadership skills; excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Pay

Incentive eligible. The pay range for this role is $207,000 – $258,000 annually. Actual compensation within this range may vary based on the candidate's skills, educational background, professional experience, and unique qualifications for the role.