Director, Automated Manufacturing Operations (Photonics)

Location: 100% on-site at hirify.global headquarters in San Diego, California, United States; work takes place in a cleanroom, optical assembly lab, and precision electronics manufacturing facilities. Employment requires access to export-controlled information and the applicant must be a U.S. person as defined by 8 U.S.C. § 1324b(a)(3).

Expected annual salary: $185,000–$235,000.

Company

hirify.global develops next-generation quantum hardware, photonics components, optical packaging, and automated assembly platforms.

What you will do

• Define and execute the operational roadmap for automated manufacturing, precision robotic assembly, and high-yield automated testing.
• Recruit, mentor, and lead teams across operations, manufacturing engineering, equipment maintenance, and factory-floor execution.
• Own production planning and on-time delivery from known good parts to known good product.
• Manage factory operations, material flow, WIP tracking, equipment maintenance, uptime, quality control, inspection, and MRB processes.
• Deploy and optimize automated pick-and-place, optical alignment, micro-assembly, packaging, and laser alignment machinery.
• Partner with R&D, process development, optical, mechanical, firmware, and software teams on DFM/DFA, NPI, scale-up, documentation, facilities, vendors, budgets, and continuous improvement.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Mechatronics, Operations Management, or a related technical discipline.
• 12+ years of professional experience in automated manufacturing operations, high-precision assembly, or industrial engineering, including at least 5+ years in direct operations management or manufacturing leadership.
• Proven experience scaling and managing fully automated manufacturing lines, industrial robotics, factory operations, or semiconductor/photonics packaging facilities.
• Must be a U.S. person as defined by 8 U.S.C. § 1324b(a)(3) because the role requires access to export-controlled information.

Nice to have

• Deep experience operating high-precision optoelectronics and photonics production lines, including micro-optics assembly, active fiber coupling, PIC packaging, or laser manufacturing.
• Familiarity with precision motion control, PLCs and industrial controllers, machine vision, and MES, SCADA, or ERP integration.
• Hands-on experience with Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Root Cause Analysis, SPC, GR&R, and DOE.
• Experience scaling an advanced hardware startup into a mature, repeatable, high-volume manufacturing facility.

Culture & Benefits

• Full-time employment in a fast-paced startup environment with a hands-on operational leadership scope.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Fidelity 401(k) plan with 4% employer matching.
• 20 paid time-off days and 13 paid company holidays per year.
• 9/80 work schedule with every other Friday off.