Product & Manufacturing Lead

PlasmaLeap Technologies; Sydney; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Equity

Coverage for training and conferences

Job summary

Plasmaleap Technologies is seeking a Product & Manufacturing Lead to own the transition from prototype to scalable production. You will sit at the intersection of product, engineering and manufacturing, working hands-on with the team in Australia and directly with contract manufacturers and suppliers globally to industrialise and deploy the technology.

You’ll own the product engineering process, define requirements, drive manufacturing readiness, and build the systems, processes and partnerships

Qualifications

• Bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or equivalent.
• 10+ years engineering experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading engineering teams.

Responsibilities

• Own the journey from engineering concept through to a product that can be reliably manufactured, deployed, serviced and scaled.
• Lead engineering teams and establish robust design reviews, documentation and change control.
• Develop and execute the manufacturing strategy to scale production and supplier relationships.
• Identify and mitigate manufacturing risks, drive DF M/ DFA and serviceability considerations.
• Collaborate with contract manufacturers and suppliers, including in China, to ensure quality and schedule.

Job description

The Opportunity

This is not a role maintaining an established product or optimising a mature production line.

It is an opportunity to take breakthrough technology out of the workshop, turn it into a repeatable product, and build the manufacturing capability required to deploy it at scale around the world.

Plasmaleap Technologies is entering a critical stage of growth. Our technology is moving from rapid engineering and prototype development into commercial manufacture and deployment. We are looking for a Product & Manufacturing Lead to own that transition.

You’ll sit at the intersection of product, engineering and manufacturing, taking ownership of how our technology is designed, industrialised, manufactured and continuously improved.

You’ll work hands-on with our engineering team in Australia and directly with suppliers and contract manufacturers, including partners in China and other regions. You’ll influence everything from product architecture and design decisions to manufacturing processes, cost, quality, supply chain and production readiness.

For someone who loves building physical products, solving difficult engineering problems and seeing something move from CAD and prototypes to factories and customers, there aren't many opportunities quite like this.

About Plasmaleap Technologies

Plasmaleap Technologies is a globally recognised Australian clean‑chemicals company reinventing how the world makes molecules. We’re decarbonising heavy industry and eliminating input scarcity by putting clean, distributed chemical production in the hands of communities themselves.

Our proprietary plasma reactors use renewable electricity, air and water to produce green fertilizers and fuels, creating a scalable, commercially viable pathway to net‑zero that strengthens food security and bypasses fragile, fossil‑fuel global supply chains entirely.

If you want to build deep tech that solves climate and food security in the same breath, and you want to do it at speed, with urgency, with purpose, and with people who are actually executing—not just talking about it—then you’ll fit right in.

Why You Should Join Plasmaleap Technologies

We Move Fast – Build, test and learn outside your comfort zone alongside curious, driven teammates.

We Make an Impact – Work on meaningful challenges that decarbonise industry and improve global food security.

We’re Getting Recognised – Plasmaleap is earning global recognition through international awards, world‑class investors backing us from multiple continents, and growing publication and patent output as we redefine what’s possible in clean chemicals.

We Own It – Every team member has a voice and takes real ownership in a culture of experimentation as we rapidly develop, prototype and scale our technology.

We’ve Got You – Receive support through personal days, opportunities to travel and professional development opportunities.

We Celebrate Wins – Enjoy fun, engaging company events while working hard on ambitious goals.

We Reward Talent – To build the best, you have to employ the best. Competitive salary, equity, and coverage for training and conferences.

What You'll Own

Product – Turn Engineering Into a Product

You’ll own the journey from engineering concept through to a product that can be reliably manufactured, deployed, serviced and scaled.

You will:

• Own the product engineering process from concept through production release.
• Translate technical requirements, customer needs and commercial objectives into clear product requirements.
• Lead systems engineering principles throughout product development and industrialisation.
• Make practical engineering trade-offs across performance, cost, reliability, manufacturability and serviceability.
• Drive Design for Manufacturing (DFM), Design for Assembly (DFA) and Design for Serviceability.
• Lead design reviews, prototype builds, testing and design validation.
• Establish robust product documentation, drawing control, configuration management and engineering change processes.
• Develop a clear product roadmap that supports commercial deployment and future scale.

Manufacturing – Build the Path to Scale

A major part of your mandate will be taking products developed and built internally and creating a manufacturing model capable of supporting commercial growth.

You will:

• Lead the transition from in-house prototype builds to repeatable contract manufacturing.
• Develop and execute the product industrialisation and manufacturing strategy.
• Determine what we build internally, what we outsource and how those decisions evolve as we scale.
• Work directly with contract manufacturers and critical suppliers.
• Lead technical discussions around tooling, manufacturing methods, assembly, testing and quality.
• Establish production readiness and factory qualification processes.
• Identify bottlenecks before they become scaling problems.
• Drive improvements in manufacturing cost, lead time, quality and yield.
• Build manufacturing capability that can scale with Plasmaleap's commercial ambitions.

Partners & Supply Chain – Build the Manufacturing Ecosystem

You won’t manage manufacturing from behind a desk. You’ll build relationships with the people actually making the product.

You will:

• Identify, evaluate and qualify suppliers and manufacturing partners.
• Build strong working relationships with contract manufacturers in China and other regions.
• Visit manufacturing partners and suppliers as required to solve problems at the source.
• Assess supplier capability, quality, lead times, capacity and cost structures.
• Work collaboratively with suppliers to improve manufacturability and resolve technical issues.
• Lead root cause investigations and corrective actions when manufacturing or field issues arise.
• Support sourcing decisions and identify supply chain risks before they impact delivery.

Engineering Leadership – Build the Team Around the Product

You’ll also provide technical leadership to the mechanical engineering team, ensuring engineering effort is focused on building products that can ultimately be manufactured and deployed.

You will:

• Lead and develop the mechanical engineering team.
• Create a collaborative, accountable and high-performing engineering environment.
• Allocate resources and prioritise engineering work across multiple projects.
• Set clear engineering standards and expectations.
• Conduct and lead technical and design reviews.
• Mentor engineers and develop capability within the team.
• Improve communication and decision‑making across engineering disciplines.
• Remain close enough to the technical detail to challenge assumptions and help solve difficult problems.

What We're Looking For

We’re looking for an engineering leader who has actually taken physical products from development into manufacture.

You’ll likely have a strong mechanical, mechatronics, manufacturing or product engineering background, but the title on your CV matters less than what you've built.

You’ll be someone who:

• Has experience taking complex physical products from prototype through industrialisation and production.
• Understands manufacturing processes, tolerances, materials, tooling, assembly and production constraints.
• Has strong DFM/DFA experience and instinctively considers manufacturability when reviewing a design.
• Can move comfortably between CAD, engineering discussions, supplier negotiations and a factory floor.
• Has experience working with contract manufacturers and external suppliers.
• Understands product cost and can identify where engineering decisions create unnecessary manufacturing complexity or expense.
• Can establish processes without creating bureaucracy.
• Is commercially minded and understands that the best engineering solution must also be manufacturable, serviceable and economically viable.
• Can lead experienced technical people while remaining willing to get hands‑on when needed.
• Is comfortable making decisions with imperfect information in a fast‑moving scale‑up environment.

Experience working with manufacturing partners in China or Asia and industrialising complex hardware, machinery, energy systems or other deep‑tech products would be highly regarded.

The Kind of Person Who Will Thrive Here

You are an engineer first and a manager second.

You enjoy walking onto a factory floor as much as reviewing a CAD model. You want to understand why something costs what it costs, why it takes as long as it does to manufacture and what needs to change to make the next 100 units better than the first 10.

You don’t need a large corporate structure around you to get things done. You can create structure where it is needed without slowing everyone down.

Most importantly, you want ownership.

This role gives you the opportunity to shape not only what Plasmaleap's products become, but how they are built at scale.

What Success Looks Like

Within your first 12 months, you will have:

• Created a clear pathway from prototype builds to scalable production.
• Prepared key products for successful contract manufacturing.
• Established practical engineering review, change control and product release processes.
• Built strong relationships with strategic manufacturing and supply partners.
• Improved product cost through design, sourcing and manufacturing improvements.
• Increased engineering delivery, quality and predictability.
• Built a cohesive, high-performing engineering team with clear priorities and accountability.
• Established the manufacturing foundations required to support Plasmaleap's next stage of commercial growth.

If you've spent your career wanting to see the things you design actually get built—and you want those products to solve problems that matter,we'd like to hear from you.

Experience & Qualifications

• Bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or equivalent.
• 10+ years engineering experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading engineering teams.
• Proven track record taking products from prototype to production.
• Experience working directly with contract manufacturers.
• Strong understanding of:
  • DFM
  • DFA
  • Design for Serviceability
  • Tolerance analysis
  • Root cause analysis
  • Product verification & validation
• Experience managing engineering documentation and change control processes.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
• Experience working with Chinese contract manufacturers.

• Experience with electromechanical products.
• Experience with industrial equipment, process equipment, agricultural equipment, energy systems, or environmental technology.
• Exposure to quality systems such as ISO9001.
• Experience establishing manufacturing operations from an early‑stage product environment.
• Startup or scale‑up experience.