The Role
We’re building the next generation of maritime robotics. This isn’t just engineering; it’s pioneering. We’re looking for a Head of Manufacturing who thrives in a fast-paced environment, loves building real things, and wants to own taking our platform from prototype to production. You’ll define the facilities, resources, processes, and layout that delivers scale into the water.
What You’ll Do
• Lead the manufacturing of our first production platform, partnering with the design team to ensure the platform is buildable, testable, and serviceable
• Establish the manufacturing strategy: facility layout, tooling, fixtures, work instructions, and inspection plans
• Hire and manage team to support your manufacturing strategy
• Stand up the build space — workbenches, ESD-controlled assembly areas, pressure and leak test capability, and the equipment we need to bring hardware to life
• Source and qualify new suppliers; build relationships with machine shops, fabricators, and subassembly partners
• Own first-article inspection and build documentation, BOM management, and the configuration control needed to scale beyond prototype phase
• Plan the transition from prototype to product, process documentation, yield and cycle-time improvement, cost reduction, and the staffing plan that follows
• Get hands-on: when a fixture is missing, a fastener is wrong, or a tolerance stack-up isn’t working, you’re on the floor with a multi-discipline team to help solve it
• Drive Design for Manufacturing (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA) feedback throughout the process
What You Bring
• Degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, a related field, or equivalent experience
• 10+ years in manufacturing or production engineering roles, including prototype build and the prototype to production transitions
• Proficiency with mechanical assembly, machining, and fabrication processes.
• Comfortable with sealed or pressurized assemblies, harnessing, and electromechanical integration
• Comfortable with battery management, handling, and storage
• Strong fluency reading engineering drawings, GD&T, and CAD
• Experience standing up a build or manufacturing space from scratch, including equipment selection, layout, safety, and process flow
• Comfort working with a small team and wearing many hats
• Strong problem-solving drive: when something breaks, you dive in and fix it
• U.S. citizen; eligible for DoD security clearance
Nice To Haves
• Experience manufacturing maritime, automotive, subsea, aerospace, defense, or other ruggedized platforms
• Background in low-rate initial production (LRIP), pilot manufacturing, or contract manufacturer management
• Right-sized experience with PLM, MES, or ERP systems; enough structure to scale, not so much that it slows the team down
• A track record of hacking, building, or shipping hardware outside of “normal” work
• Active DoD Secret clearance
Who You Are
• You like to get your hands dirty - on the shop floor or on the dock
• Comfortable with ambiguity; you see constraints as opportunities
• Collaborative, but independent, driving your own workload while staying tightly coupled with design and test
• Passionate about robotics, hardware, and building tech that matters
