Manager, Build Engineering – Commodities

Location: On-site in Los Angeles, California, with regular travel of up to 25% to the Cherokee, Alabama factory.

Salary: $175K–$250K annually, plus equity.

Company

hirify.global builds autonomous factories combining AI, advanced software, robotics, and full-stack manufacturing for aerospace, defense, and other mission-critical products.

What you will do

• Build, lead, hire, staff, coach, and level a team of Build Engineers across machining, tube and pipe, and sheet metal.
• Own commodity-level NPI outcomes from requirements definition and subscale development through first article, qualification, stabilized production, and transition to standard production.
• Standardize product requirements, build plans, process definitions, BOMs, work orders, and Opus work instructions across PLM, ERP, and MES systems.
• Coordinate with Supply Chain, Capability Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Tooling, Quality, and Test to resolve constraints, define equipment needs, and make make-or-buy recommendations.
• Lead shared development work including subscale articles, weld joint qualification, fixturing, and datum strategy.
• Act as the escalation point for commodity build issues, lead process transfers into new production cells, and represent the team in program reviews and leadership updates.

Requirements

• 6–10+ years of experience in build, production, or manufacturing engineering, including hands-on NPI or zero-to-one manufacturing experience.
• 2+ years leading or managing manufacturing engineers, or a demonstrated 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, plus working knowledge of the other two.
• Ability to interpret and define requirements from customer specifications, engineering drawings, GD&T, and contracts.
• Experience structuring BOMs, work orders, and work instructions in PLM, ERP, or MES systems, including engineering change and configuration management.
• Success coordinating engineering, supply chain, quality, and production functions on complex or first-of-kind builds.
• Ability to make decisions under schedule pressure with incomplete or evolving information and align technicians, engineers, and leadership around one execution plan.
• Ability to work on-site at the factory and travel regularly to Cherokee, Alabama, up to 25% of the time.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident, protected individual, or eligible to obtain required U.S. Department of State authorizations under ITAR.

Nice to have

• Experience owning a product or program from concept or prototype through production ramp at a high-growth manufacturing or hardware company.
• Precision manufacturing, machining, assembly, or inspection experience in aerospace, defense, or another mission-critical industry.
• Exposure to test engineering, materials and processes, or capability engineering.
• Experience managing teams through frequent design or priority changes.
• Familiarity with ERP, MES, PLM, and digital work-instruction tools.
• Lean manufacturing or continuous improvement experience.

Culture & Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans.
• 401(k).
• Flexible vacation policy.
• Equity.
• Relocation support may be provided in certain situations based on business need.
• AI-assisted recruiting tools may support recruiting operations; candidate evaluations and hiring decisions are performed by humans.