Manager Mechanical Development

Job Description: Manager Mechanical Development
Department: Engineering
Reports To: Director of Engineering
Sub-Teams Supervised: Mechanical Design, Fabrication & Prototyping, Assembly & Maintenance
Employment Type: Full-time

Role Overview
The Manager Mechanical Development is a strategic engineering leader responsible for driving the mechanical architecture, scalable machine design, and physical realization of advanced manufacturing lines for next-generation Lithium-ion cell and 3D electrode fabrication.
Operating at the intersection of first-principles mechanical engineering and strategic capacity scaling, this role goes beyond tactical execution to build foundational engineering capabilities. The Senior Manager will oversee multiple engineering tracks, mentor team leads, own high-level system architecture, and ensure that all custom, in-house machinery seamlessly transitions from agile prototyping (Demo phase) into robust, scalable production platforms.

Key Responsibilities
1. Strategic Machine Architecture & System Design

• Architect the overarching mechanical platforms for custom automated machinery, ensuring modularity, high precision, and scalability across the manufacturing lifecycle.
• Drive the adoption of advanced engineering methodologies, including rigorous tolerance stackup analysis across complex multi-stage assemblies, kinematic modeling, and structural/thermal Finite Element Analysis (FEA).
• Establish and enforce strict departmental standards for Design for Manufacturability (DFM), Design for Assembly (DFA), and Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T).
• Lead high-level design reviews, acting as the final technical authority for complex mechanical systems and Special Purpose Machines (SPMs) before CapEx deployment.

2. Advanced Fabrication & Scale-Up Strategy

• Lead the transition of mechanical equipment from rapid, iterative prototyping into hardened, high-uptime pilot and production lines.
• Champion structured problem-solving and optimization frameworks (e.g., Taguchi methods, Design of Experiments) to finalize mechanical tooling for unstandardized, high-ambiguity process parameters.
• Direct the internal fabrication and rapid-prototyping workshops while simultaneously developing a strategic, scalable external vendor ecosystem for specialized machining and large-scale manufacturing.

3. Cross-Functional Engineering Integration

• Partner at a strategic level with Process Technology, Materials Engineering, and Automation leaders to ensure mechanical systems seamlessly adapt to evolving slurry, coating, and cell stacking requirements.
• Oversee the mechanical integration of complex sub-systems, including pneumatic/hydraulic circuits, servo drives, and precision alignment fixtures, ensuring alignment with overall cell energy density and thermal targets.
• Direct high-level Root Cause Analysis (RCA) on systemic mechanical failure modes impacting First Pass Yield (FPY) on cell stack fabrication lines.

4. Leadership, Team Building & Resource Optimization

• Manage, mentor, and develop a multi-layered team of mechanical engineering leads, design specialists, and fabrication technicians.
• Own the mechanical engineering resource roadmap, anticipating capacity bottlenecks and dynamically reallocating engineering bandwidth across parallel machine-build tracks.
• Foster a culture of first-principles thinking, rigorous data-driven design, and rapid agile execution.

5. CapEx, Budget & Vendor Ecosystem Management

• Own the CapEx and OpEx budgets for the mechanical engineering department, ensuring maximum ROI on in-house machinery development versus commercial off-the-shelf alternatives.
• Negotiate strategic partnerships with high-precision machine shops, tooling suppliers, and automation hardware vendors.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Strategic Milestone Delivery: On-time commissioning of scalable, multi-stage automated assembly lines and critical mechanical infrastructure.
• System Reliability at Scale: Total system Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and uptime (> 95%) across integrated prototype and pilot lines.
• CapEx Efficiency: Budget variance and overall capital efficiency of in-house developed machinery versus baseline commercial equivalents.
• Engineering Scalability: Successful reduction of Engineering Change Orders (ECOs) post-design freeze through rigorous upfront tolerance and structural analysis.
• Team & Capability Growth: Development of internal leads and establishment of a resilient external fabrication supply chain.

Required Qualifications & Experience
Education

• Master's or Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Machine Design, Production Engineering, or a related discipline. (Ph.D. or advanced research experience in specialized mechanical methodologies is a plus).

Experience

• 10- 12+ years of progressive experience in mechanical machine design, precision special-purpose machinery (SPM), and automated manufacturing line development.
• Proven experience in a senior leadership role, managing subordinate managers/leads and scaling engineering teams.
• Deep background in battery manufacturing, advanced materials processing, semiconductor equipment, or high-precision automation is essential.

Technical & Leadership Competencies

• Advanced Engineering Methodologies: Mastery of rigorous tolerance stackup analysis, complex hydraulic/pneumatic circuit design, powder metallurgy tooling, and statistical engineering design frameworks (e.g., Taguchi experimental design).
• High-Level CAD & Simulation: Expert oversight capabilities in 3D CAD platforms, PDM/PLM ecosystems, and FEA simulation validations.
• Executive Communication: Ability to translate complex mechanical realities, CapEx requirements, and technical risk profiles into strategic actionable insights for the Director of Engineering and executive leadership.
• Agile Problem Solving: Demonstrated capability in guiding teams through high-ambiguity environments, pivoting tooling and mechanical strategies rapidly to meet changing process chemistries and product scopes.