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Hadrian is building autonomous factories to reindustrialize America by combining AI, advanced software, robotics, and full-stack manufacturing for aerospace and defense companies. The company helps customers build rockets, satellites, aircraft, ships, and other mission-critical systems up to 10x faster and at significantly lower cost. Following a $1.37B Series D at a $7.87B valuation, Hadrian is rapidly expanding its manufacturing footprint and scaling its Factory-as-a-Service platform.
You will lead the Build Engineering team that owns how commodity parts get made across machining, tube and pipe, and sheet metal. You own new product introduction (NPI) for these commodities end-to-end, from first article through qualification, ramp, and transition into standard production. You are accountable for the build outcomes of every engineer on your team.
Commodity parts feed nearly every product Hadrian builds, so your team's work shows up across the whole business. Your responsibilities include setting how parts flow through the factory, defining the processes they need, and working across Supply Chain, Capability Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Tooling, Quality, and Test to bring them to rate. You will establish one standard for how build plans, process definitions, and work instructions are written across all three commodities.
This is a working manager role where you will hire, coach, and level up Build Engineers across three disciplines while commodity cells come online. You will prove out processes and first articles at an existing factory before transferring them into the new factory in Cherokee, Alabama. You will stay close enough to the floor to make real-time technical calls or step in yourself during high-priority builds.
Key responsibilities include: building and leading a team of Build Engineers across machining, tube and pipe, and sheet metal; owning commodity-level NPI outcomes from requirements definition through stabilized production; ensuring your team interprets product requirements from customer specifications and drawings before build plans are set; establishing common standards for product requirements definition, build plans, process definitions, BOM structures, work orders, and work instructions across all three commodities; tying individual engineer work into one coherent execution plan with sequencing and prioritization; ensuring Capability Engineering receives complete, stable process definitions early; owning make/buy recommendations balancing in-house capacity against supplier capability; driving shared development work across the team; partnering with cross-functional teams to unblock constraints; serving as primary escalation point for commodity build issues; leading process transfer from development into new production cells; representing the commodities team in program reviews and leadership updates; and driving lessons learned across builds.
REQUIREMENTS:
- 6–10+ years of experience in build, production, or manufacturing engineering, including hands-on experience with new product introduction (NPI) or zero-to-one manufacturing efforts
- 2+ years of experience leading or managing a team of engineers in a manufacturing environment, or demonstrated track record of informal technical leadership
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Industrial, or Aerospace Engineering, or equivalent hands-on experience
- Hands-on depth in at least one of machining, tube and pipe, or sheet metal fabrication, and working knowledge of the other two
- Strong ability to interpret and define product requirements from customer specifications, engineering drawings, GD&T, and contract requirements
- Experience structuring BOMs, work orders, and work instructions in PLM, ERP, or MES systems, including engineering change and configuration management
- Demonstrated success coordinating across engineering, supply chain, quality, and production functions to deliver complex or first-of-kind builds
- Ability to make sound decisions under schedule pressure with incomplete or evolving information
- Excellent communication skills with ability to align technicians, engineers, and leadership around a single execution plan
- Able to work on-site at Los Angeles factory and travel regularly to Cherokee, AL factory, up to 25% of the time
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Experience owning a product or program from concept/prototype through production ramp at a high-growth manufacturing or hardware company
- Background in precision manufacturing, machining, assembly, or inspection within aerospace, defense, or other mission-critical industries
- Exposure to test engineering, materials & processes, or capability engineering functions
- Experience managing a team through frequent design or priority changes
- Familiarity with ERP/MES/PLM systems and digital work instruction tools
- Lean manufacturing or continuous improvement experience
