Senior Manufacturing Engineer

Manufacturing Engineer

WindBorne is an atypical hardware company insomuch as we sell the data produced by our balloons rather than the balloons themselves. Because of this, we have a very tight loop between engineering and our customers (our own internal operations), and so can push design changes to the field on the order of once per week while simultaneously scaling production. Right now, every part of that process is owned by a team of full-stack engineers, each of whom designs a part, owns its tooling, and makes tweaks to improve performance in the field. This has worked thus far but won't scale because the load of caring about manufacturing throughput and tooling maintenance has grown large enough that it cannot coexist with design iterations. We're hiring our first manufacturing engineer (you) to change that.

WindBorne's manufacturing is a manual-to-semi-automated environment built around delicate hand assembly (soft goods, heat-sealed plastics, and light soldering). You will enter WindBorne as the first manufacturing engineer in the company, owning the manufacturing engineering for parts as they come off the design team and introducing automations that improve the speed and reliability of processes.

You'll start as the sole manufacturing engineer, but we expect you to hire and lead a team under you in the first year. You'll report to our COO as part of operations, take technical direction from our CTO, and sit as a peer to our design engineering leaders.

This is an atypical position: most hardware isn't at design lock, but we produce it at volume (currently 1,000 units a month, doubling every six months). We need someone to make decisions on which parts of a design are stable enough to tool up and document, and which need to stay flexible, as well as the engineering rigor to build repeatable, sustainable production around a moving target. If that seems exciting, this job might be for you.

Core Responsibilities

• Own manufacturing engineering for parts as they transition off the design team — taking on tooling, process, and production responsibility so design engineers can stay focused on design and bring-up.
• Build and run clean design-to-manufacturing handoffs, including for parts that aren't yet at full design lock — using judgment to decide what's ready to systematize and what should stay flexible.
• Develop functional, end-to-end test fixtures and protocols that verify quality on the line.
• Design jigs, fixtures, and assembly aids, and identify and build the automations and semi-automations that make delicate hand assembly faster, safer, and more consistent.
• Build the manufacturing backbone from the ground up — work instructions, revision and change practices, and production documentation — extending the lightweight in-house system already in place.
• Partner with design engineers on design-for-manufacturability, early and often, so manufacturability is considered before a design hardens.
• Hire, mentor, and lead a growing team of manufacturing engineers (target of ~2 within the first year), and shape how that team is structured.
• Work cross-functionally — taking technical direction from the CTO, reporting goals and delivery through the COO, and collaborating as a peer to design engineering.

Nice to have / may own over time: DFM feedback, supplier management, and incoming quality for outsourced parts (3D-printed, laser-cut, PCB/PCBA); quality, yield, inspection, and defect-tracking systems.

Skills & Qualifications

Required

• ~5+ years in engineering, preferably manufacturing, with a track record in NPI and assembly.
• A senior individual contributor ready to step into leadership — prior direct reports aren't required, but the instinct and appetite to build and lead a team are.
• Hands-on experience designing functional test fixtures and test protocols.
• Strong mechanical and pneumatic fixturing and assembly-aid design.
• Comfort with ambiguity: you've built repeatable production around designs that were still evolving, and you apply context rather than impose a rigid system.
• Sound judgment, flexibility, and the ability to explain the "why" behind process decisions.
• Able to work on-site in Redwood Shores.

Nice to have

• Experience with soft goods, heat sealing, web handling, or other delicate, non-rigid materials.
• A controls or mechatronics background (PLC, vision, custom semi-automated stations) — a direction the team may grow toward.
• Prior people management or team-building experience.
• Supplier/vendor management and incoming quality.
• Experience standing up quality or documentation systems from scratch.

Benefits

• 401(k)
• Health, Dental, and Vision insurance 100% covered
• Unlimited PTO
• Incentive Stock Option Plan
• Office food and beverages (minimum 2x catered lunches & dinners a week)

Salary

$130k-$180k** We are considering a range of backgrounds and experience levels for this position and adjust our offers accordingly to be competitive with market rates.

Location

1600 Bridge Parkway, Redwood Shores, CA. In person required.