Lead Manufacturing Engineer, Packaging

Location: Huntington Beach, California, United States. Must be a U.S. Person as defined by ITAR and authorized to work in the U.S.; travel up to 25% and extended hours or weekends may be required.

Salary: $140,000–$180,000 USD per year, plus performance-based incentives and equity.

Company

Mach Industries is a rapidly growing defense technology startup developing autonomous defense platforms and the factories required to produce them at scale.

What you will do

• Own the packaging engineering roadmap for inbound, in-plant, and inter-plant packaging across product lines and factories.
• Lead packaging projects from concept through validation, supplier production, plant trials, and launch in line with NPI and production-ramp milestones.
• Design custom racks, returnable containers, dunnage, kitting carts, and expendable packaging, releasing production-ready CAD and drawings with tolerance stack-ups.
• Define and run packaging validation, including ISTA, ASTM D4169, drop, vibration, and compression testing, while applying safety, ergonomic, sustainability, UN, and ESD requirements.
• Own PFEP and packaging master data, map material flow, evaluate returnable versus expendable packaging costs, and build cost models and capital forecasts.
• Select and manage packaging suppliers, establish standards, track KPIs, resolve nonconformances, drive continuous improvement, and mentor or help hire packaging engineers and technicians.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Packaging, Industrial or Manufacturing Engineering, Supply Chain, Logistics, or equivalent experience.
• 7+ years of packaging engineering experience in automotive, aerospace, defense, or other hardware manufacturing, including end-to-end project leadership.
• Hands-on experience designing racks, returnable containers, dunnage, expendable packaging, and material-handling solutions.
• Proficiency in 3D CAD such as Siemens NX, SolidWorks, CATIA, or similar, including GD&T and tolerance stack-ups.
• Strong knowledge of steel, aluminum, plastics, foams, corrugated materials, and wood, plus welding, sheet metal, machining, thermoforming, injection molding, and foam fabrication processes.
• Experience validating packaging to ISTA and ASTM standards; experience with PFEP, material-flow mapping, packaging cost modeling, and supplier management.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and aggressive timelines in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment.
• Strong communication and negotiation skills, with the ability to present to operators, suppliers, and senior leadership.
• Must be a U.S. Person under ITAR requirements and meet applicable U.S. export-control authorization requirements.

Nice to have

• Automotive packaging engineering experience.
• Inbound packaging experience for lithium batteries or hazardous materials, DOT or IATA hazmat certification, and ESD-protective packaging experience.
• Experience with Pack Studio, PackAssistant, FEA for rack and container design, Teamcenter, or similar PLM and ERP systems.
• Startup, greenfield factory launch, or rapid production-ramp experience.
• Experience leading or mentoring engineers.
• Certified Packaging Professional credential.
• Lean Manufacturing or Six Sigma training, including lean material flow and line-side presentation.
• Active security clearance or ability to obtain one.

Culture & Benefits

• Fast-paced startup environment focused on manufacturing innovation and rapid production scaling.
• Healthcare, dental, vision, retirement savings, and paid time off.
• Performance-based incentives and stock options or equity participation.
• Funding for continuing education, training, and career growth.
• Transparent compensation structure and opportunities to work on next-generation autonomous defense platforms.