Head of Manufacturing Engineering Automation & Controls

The role

This leader will lead the development and scale-up of manufacturing systems for high-volume small unmanned aircraft production. You will build and lead a multidisciplinary organization responsible for translating product designs into automated, production-ready manufacturing systems.

What you will do

• Build, lead, and develop a Manufacturing Engineering organization.
• Define manufacturing engineering strategy, technical roadmap, and organizational structure.
• Partner with Design, Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, Test, and Product teams.
• Establish manufacturing standards, design reviews, and process qualification methodologies.
• Lead the architecture, development, deployment, and lifecycle management of automated equipment.
• Build internal capabilities in controls engineering, robotics, and industrial networking.
• Establish controls and automation standards for rapid scaling.
• Develop strategies for balancing manual, semi-automated, and fully automated manufacturing.
• Establish equipment development processes including FAT/SAT and commissioning.
• Partner with external automation integrators and equipment suppliers.

Required qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in manufacturing engineering, automation engineering, controls engineering, equipment engineering, or related disciplines.
• 5+ years of experience leading engineering organizations responsible for manufacturing systems or factory automation.
• Demonstrated experience scaling complex electromechanical products into high-volume production.
• Experience in aerospace, automotive, robotics, industrial automation, electronics, battery, semiconductor, or another highly engineered manufacturing environment.
• Deep understanding of manufacturing automation and controls.
• Experience developing custom production equipment from concept through production deployment.
• Experience developing capital equipment strategies and managing significant CapEx programs.
• Strong understanding of DFM/DFA.
• Experience operating in environments requiring rigorous configuration management, traceability, process control, and quality systems.
• Demonstrated ability to recruit, develop, and lead multidisciplinary technical organizations.
• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Mechatronics, Robotics, or a related technical field.

Nice to have

• Aerospace experience strongly preferred
• Experience scaling aerospace or similarly complex hardware from low-rate initial production to hundreds or thousands of units per month
• Experience building an automation and controls engineering function from the ground up
• Experience designing manufacturing systems for products combining mechanical assemblies, electronics, motors, sensors, batteries, composites, or other complex electromechanical technologies
• Familiarity with aerospace manufacturing and quality frameworks such as AS9100
• Experience with MES, equipment connectivity, manufacturing data infrastructure, and Industry 4.0 architectures
• Experience with automated inspection, machine vision, robotic assembly, dispensing, fastening, material handling, or automated test systems
• Experience developing standardized automation platforms that can be replicated across multiple production lines or factories
• Experience working in fast-growth hardware organizations where product design and manufacturing systems evolve simultaneously
• Master's degree in an engineering discipline or equivalent technical experience

Benefits

• Competitive base salaries
• Equity in the form of stock options
• Group health insurance plans
• Paid vacation time
• Sick leave
• Holiday pay
• 401K savings plan
• Relocation assistance may be provided for eligible roles

Before you apply

• Obtaining FAA Part 107 certification within the first 60 days of employment is strongly encouraged and required for certain positions
• Skydio, Inc. uses E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility

About the company

Skydio is the leading US drone company and the world leader in autonomous flight. The team combines expertise in artificial intelligence, hardware and software product development, operational excellence, and customer obsession.