Senior Robotics Systems & Manufacturing Lead

Senior Robotics Systems & Manufacturing Lead

Irvine, California On-site Full-time

As our Robotics Systems & Manufacturing Lead, you'll own the connective tissue between a working prototype and a commercial product. You'll partner with our engineering team to bring structure to system documentation, find the reliability and performance gaps in today's robot, define the requirements for what comes next, and coordinate the external engineering, manufacturing, and supplier partners who help us build it. The role spans systems engineering, product development, manufacturing readiness, supplier management, and hands-on field validation. You'll move fluidly between low-level technical detail, customer needs, field testing, and supplier discussions - often in the same day. You'll thrive here if you're a systems thinker who likes range: someone equally comfortable in a CAD review, on a hotel floor watching a robot work, and across the table from a manufacturing partner.

What you'll do

• Own system-level requirements for current and future robotic platforms
• Define subsystem specifications and interface requirements
• Build and maintain the engineering documentation backbone - architecture descriptions, design records, and technical data
• Establish traceability from customer needs to engineering requirements, testing, and product features
• Run system-level trade studies and architecture evaluations
• Surface performance, reliability, manufacturability, and serviceability gaps in existing systems
• Analyze field performance data and drive root-cause analysis on system failures
• Work shoulder-to-shoulder with software and robotics engineers during deployments and validation testing
• Drive improvements in reliability, maintainability, and operational efficiency
• Shape the requirements and design objectives for future product generations
• Develop subsystem specifications and RFPs for suppliers and engineering partners
• Evaluate and select vendors, suppliers, and manufacturing partners
• Support sourcing, procurement, and manufacturing planning
• Coordinate external engineering efforts and review partner deliverables
• Help stand up manufacturing, quality, and deployment processes for low-volume production
• Field Operations
• Test and validate robots in live hotel environments
• Travel to customer sites, suppliers, and deployment locations as needed
• Turn field observations into concrete engineering improvements

What we’re looking for

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Robotics, or a related technical field
• 10+ years developing complex electromechanical systems
• Experience across robotics, automation, autonomous vehicles, aerospace, medical devices, or similarly demanding products
• A strong systems mindset - you understand how hardware, software, controls, and operations interact
• A track record of creating technical specifications, requirements, and engineering documentation
• Experience working with suppliers, vendors, or manufacturing partners
• Excellent written and verbal communication

Nice to have

• Experience taking products from prototype through pilot or production
• Hands-on experience with robotics platforms and autonomous systems
• Low-volume manufacturing and productization experience
• Comfort with CAD and mechanical design review
• Reliability engineering, validation testing, and root-cause analysis
• Familiarity with ROS, robotic manipulators, mobile robots, or industrial automation

We look for people who are technically strong, intellectually honest, low-ego, direct, collaborative, and willing to test their assumptions in the real world. Go deep, then connect the system. Surface problems early. Own the outcome, not only the task.

Kazvu Labs is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or disability. Where required by law, compensation ranges are provided during the application process.