Manufacturing Engineer (NPI)

Hullbot; Sydney; On-site; AUD 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Hullbot is seeking a Manufacturing Engineer (NPI) to drive the transition from prototype to scalable production in our Sydney-based team. You will design tooling, fixtures, and processes, and manage automated equipment to build the first 1000 units reliably.

You'll partner with R&D, quality, and operations to resolve DFMs, optimize cycle times, and improve first-pass yield as volumes grow.

Qualifications

• Strong CAD skills used for tooling and fixtures.
• Hands-on CNC operation and programming experience.
• Experience with multi-axis robot arms in production.
• Track record of moving designs from prototype to repeatable production.

Responsibilities

• Translate R&D designs into robust, repeatable manufacturing processes.
• Design jigs, fixtures, and tooling for production builds.
• Identify and fix design-for-manufacture issues and feed improvements back to design.
• Operate and program CNC machines and multi-axis robot arms in production lines.
• Set up automated dispensing equipment for controlled processes.
• Collaborate with mechanical, electrical, and quality teams to resolve issues and improve yield.
• Develop work instructions, process docs, and quality checkpoints.
• Drive continuous improvement in cycle time, cost, and first-pass yield as volumes scale.

Skills

3D CAD

DFM

CNC Machining

Robotics

Process Optimization

Education

Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

Onshape

Fusion 360

NX

Job description

At Hullbot we're on a mission to decarbonise the global maritime industry.

We're delivering autonomous underwater robots that inspect and clean ship hulls. Hullbot's systems are actively deployed in locations around the world, maintaining hulls free of biofouling, reducing fuel use and cutting emissions.

United by a shared ambition to create environmental impact on a global scale, we move fast and solve complex technical challenges together.

If you want to work on real robotic solutions with measurable impact, solving one of the world's biggest environmental challenges, Hullbot is the place to do it.

The Role

We're looking for a Manufacturing Engineer (NPI) who thrives in the transition from prototype to production.

This is not a concept or R&D role. You'll be embedded in our production and NPI team, where the design of modules is more mature, and your role is to make it robust, repeatable, and ready to build at scale. You care more about building the 100th and 1,000th unit reliably than the first.

You'll take mechanical designs from R&D and from existing production parts, and optimise them for manufacture - designing tooling, fixtures, and processes, and managing automated equipment that turns a good design into a repeatable production line.

What You'll Do

• Take designs from R&D and translate them into robust, repeatable manufacturing processes
• Design and specify jigs, fixtures, and tooling to support production builds
• Identify and resolve design-for-manufacture (DFM) issues, feeding improvements back to the design team
• Own and optimise the use of CNC machines and multi-axis robot arms as part of production lines
• Program, set up, and manage automated dispensing equipment for controlled-environment processes (e.g. potting, sealing, bonding)
• Work closely with mechanical, electrical, and quality teams to resolve build issues and improve yield
• Develop and maintain work instructions, process documentation, and quality checkpoints
• Drive continuous improvement in cycle time, cost, consistency, and first-pass yield as volumes scale

What We're Looking For

• Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or similar (or equivalent hands-on experience)
• Strong 3D CAD skills (SolidWorks, Onshape, Fusion 360, NX, or similar), used for tooling, fixtures, and DFM feedback
• Hands-on experience operating and programming CNC machines
• Experience working with multi-axis robot arms integrated into production lines
• Experience managing or overseeing the use of these machines in a production environment at a previous company
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes, tolerances, and materials, and how design choices affect producibility
• A track record of taking a design from prototype through to repeatable, scaled production

You'll Thrive Here If You...

• Get more satisfaction from a clean, repeatable process than from a clever one-off
• Enjoy the challenge of building hundreds or thousands of units consistently, more than exploring open-ended concepts
• Think in terms of process control, repeatability, and yield
• Like solving constrained problems: the design is fixed, and your job is to make it build reliably
• Care about tight tolerances, consistent quality, and eliminating variation at scale

Bonus Experience

• Experience with automated dispensing systems in a controlled environment (e.g. potting, conformal coating, adhesive bonding)
• Robotics or electromechanical product manufacturing
• Designing or specifying jigs, fixtures, and production tooling
• Experience with Injection Moulding, Vacuum Casting, Casting, Forming, or Encapsulation processes
• Manufacturing for harsh or outdoor environments, including maritime
• Experience with quality systems, process capability studies, or statistical process control (SPC)

Why Hullbot?

• Build and scale a product that is having a positive, measurable impact on the world
• See your work directly enable production at scale, deployed solving real world problems
• Take high ownership over how products are built, not just what they are
• Work at the sharp end of scaling a physical robotics product from tens to thousands of units
• Opportunities for rapid learning and personal development