Manufacturing Engineer

The role

This person will design, develop and optimize manufacturing processes and production lines for desalination systems. They will lead DFM/DFA initiatives and own continuous-improvement efforts in a hardware startup environment.

What you will do

• Design, develop and optimize manufacturing processes and production lines for desalination systems
• Lead DFM/DFA initiatives including tooling, fixtures, robot end-effectors, conveyors, automation programming, and control systems
• Select equipment and define cycle-times, yield targets, cost-per-unit, and quality metrics
• Develop work instructions, process flows, and layout designs
• Implement and validate manufacturing methods for new systems
• Own continuous-improvement efforts to reduce cost and increase throughput
• Collaborate with procurement, quality, test, integration teams and external vendors/suppliers

Required qualifications

• Bachelor’s in Engineering (Mechanical, Manufacturing, Industrial or equivalent)
• 1-3+ years professional experience in manufacturing engineering, process development or production optimization (including internships)
• Strong CAD (SolidWorks / other) experience
• Familiarity with manufacturing automation, tooling & fixture design
• Hands-on mindset
• Strong problem-solving skills
• Ability to operate in ambiguous/higher-growth environment
• Clear communicator across teams
• Hands on work on development hardware
• Long periods of standing, crouching, walking
• Lifting up to 50 lbs

Nice to have

• Experience in consumer hardware production, or systems with high-volume manufacturing
• Knowledge of pumps, valves, pressure vessels, fluid systems or broadly mechanical-hardware manufacturing
• Experience with automation programming, conveyors, robotics, fluid/pressure equipment
• Familiarity with Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, statistical process control (SPC)
• Experience in a hardware startup or mission-driven organization

Benefits

• Work on high-impact problems with global relevance
• Help scale breakthrough technology in water security and climate resilience
• Early ownership in a high-growth, engineering-led startup
• Join a tight-knit, mission-driven team in a fast-paced environment
• Build long-term career equity as we grow

About the company

Vital Lyfe is a tech company redefining water autonomy through innovation, creating a new category of personal water-making technology built to scale where infrastructure can’t.