The Sr. Manager, Sustaining Process Engineering leads the team responsible for qualifying, monitoring, and continuously improving the fleet of novel laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) metal 3D printers in production. This role owns the sustaining engineering function end-to-end: setting the technical strategy for tool qualification and health monitoring, growing and developing a team of Process Engineers and Technicians, and partnering with Applications, Hardware, Software, and Manufacturing to ensure printed part quality and consistency as the fleet scales. The Sr. Manager oversees day-to-day qualification and troubleshooting work, sets priorities across competing production and R&D demands, and represents sustaining engineering in cross-functional and customer-facing discussions.
Essential Functions
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Lead, hire, mentor, and develop a team of Process Engineers & Technicians responsible for printer qualification, in-build/post-build metrology, and continuous process improvement across the printer fleet, both at Velo3D and customer sites.
Own the planning and prioritization for sustaining process engineering, balancing new printer qualification, ongoing fleet health monitoring, and production troubleshooting.
Set and enforce standards for experimental design, statistical rigor, and data-driven decision making across qualification and improvement projects.
Review and approve qualification reports, root-cause investigations, and disposition decisions before release to internal stakeholders or customers.
Manage the metrology lab, including oversight of lab technicians, equipment (opticl microscopy, 3D profilometers, X-ray inspection, EDM).
Set and audit metrology procedures and acceptance criteria to ensure measurement accuracy, repeatability, and consistency across technicians and shifts.
Own hiring, training, and performance management for metrology lab technicians, including cross-training to support fluctuating qualification and production demands.
Collaborate with Hardware and Software engineering teams to validate new printer features, provide structured feedback, and align sustaining priorities with the product roadmap.
Establish and maintain SOPs, checklists, and analysis guides for the team; drive consistency and knowledge sharing across shifts and printer platforms.
Monitor team and machine-level KPVs to pre-emptive flag hardware degradation before failure.
Manage resourcing and scheduling to ensure adequate coverage for qualification builds, troubleshooting, and production support.
Drive continuous improvement initiatives that decrease requalification time and increase operational efficiency across the printer fleet.
Represent sustaining process engineering in cross-functional planning, customer interactions, and executive reviews.
Participate in and lead team, department, and other assigned meetings.
Qualifications
Education:
Required: Bachelor's degree in engineering (Mechanical, Materials, Manufacturing, or related discipline) from an accredited university.
Experience:
Required: 6+ years of experience in advanced manufacturing, process engineering, or a related technical field, including direct work with metal additive manufacturing, laser powder bed fusion, or comparable precision manufacturing processes.
Required: 2+ years of experience directly managing or leading engineers, including hiring, performance management, and career development.
Desired: Experience scaling a sustaining or qualification engineering function in a high-growth manufacturing environment.
Other Requirements:
Proven ability to lead and develop a technical team in a fast-paced, results-oriented environment.
Strong desire to work for a dynamic company building disruptive technologies, with a high tolerance for ambiguity.
Demonstrated skill in translating hands-on engineering problems into team priorities, roadmaps, and resourcing decisions.
Strong analytical and data-driven decision-making skills; comfortable reviewing and challenging statistical experimental design.
Excellent cross-functional communication skills; able to represent the team to Applications, Hardware, Software, Manufacturing, and customers.
Working knowledge of metrology methods relevant to metal AM, such as optical microscopy, 3D profilometry, digital radiography, and metallographic analysis; sufficient to manage the lab and its technicians and to review their work.
Experience with JMP or similar statistical software is highly desirable.
Python or JSL scripting experience is a plus.
Experience with CAD (e.g., SolidWorks) is a plus.
High level of accountability and ownership.
Physical Requirements and Work Environment
Physical Requirement while working in laboratory:
Must wear steel-toed boots.
Must wear protective eyewear.
May require hearing protection.
High frequency of computer keyboarding.
High frequency of viewing a computer monitor.
Other personal protective equipment as applicable.
Work Environment:
Work is performed in an office and manufacturing laboratory environment. Work may be performed in emergency and stressful situations and may include handling of hazardous materials.
