Industrialisation & Manufacturing Project Manager

Startupvalleys; Renens; Remote; CHF 110,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Hydromea, a Swiss deep-tech company, is seeking a manufacturing-focused leader to drive industrialisation and transfer projects in Renens. You will translate engineering developments into practical plans, coordinate across engineering, suppliers and manufacturing partners, and manage risks and milestones for pilot to repeatable production.

You will own production-readiness, establish documentation control, and supervise licensee transfers with clear deliverables and training.

Qualifications

• MSc in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Electrical Engineering, or similar.
• 5+ years of industry experience in product development, including at least one full cycle from concept through to production-ready design.
• Mechanical design, prototyping, manufacturing, and testing experience.
• Experience in electric motor design — electromagnetic analysis, winding specification, thermal management.
• Experience with injection moulding, overmoulding, resin encapsulation, or polymer processing.
• 3D design proficiency (Fusion360 or equivalent).
• Basic programming skills (Python, embedded).
• Basic electronics design, assembly, and soldering skills.
• Demonstrated "can do" entrepreneurial attitude — perseverance in achieving goals.
• Ability to multitask and prioritise in a dynamic environment.
• Willingness to travel for tests and deployments.
• Experience with subsea testing — hyperbaric chambers, sealing design, material behaviour in saltwater at depth.
• Experience with a full cycle of stage-gate product development.
• Experience managing external engineering consultancies or research partners.
• Experience with vacuum potting or 2-component moulding processes.
• CFD experience (OpenFOAM or equivalent).
• CNC / CAM experience.
• Experience with rapid prototyping and hand tools.

Responsibilities

• Lead industrialisation and manufacturing-transfer projects and translate engineering developments into industrialisation plans.
• Coordinate activities across engineering, suppliers, manufacturing partners and internal operations.
• Manage dependencies, risks and actions; drive issues to resolution.
• Plan prototype builds, pilot production and transition to repeatable manufacturing.
• Report progress, costs, risks and decisions clearly to management and partners.
• Set up and manage suppliers, onboarding and specification alignment.
• Coordinate requests for quotation, supplier selection and agreement on specs, lead times and deliverables.
• Manage supplier activities covering components, tooling, fixtures, process development and production services.
• Monitor supplier quality, delivery, capacity and cost; lead corrective actions.
• Maintain relationships and accountability across the supplier network.
• Own manufacturing documentation and production readiness including BOMs, assembly instructions, process specs, inspection plans, test procedures.
• Ensure manufacturing partners work from approved documentation.
• Establish document control, revision management and traceability.
• Improve manufacturability, assembly efficiency, yield and cost with engineering.
• Coordinate production-readiness reviews and close outstanding actions before release.
• Lead licensed manufacturing projects and transfer processes to a licensee.
• Coordinate transfer package, partner training, equipment readiness, pilot builds and qualification activities.
• Agree and track responsibilities, deliverables and milestones with partner.
• Ensure controlled transfer of technical information within contract scope.
• Capture feedback and coordinate improvements with engineering.
• Perform audits in a structured manner with registry and reporting.

Skills

Mechanical design

Prototyping

Manufacturing

Electric motor design

Injection moulding

3D design

Python

Electronics design

Travel willingness

Subsea testing

OpenFOAM CFD

CNC CAM

Education

MSc in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Electrical Engineering, or similar

Tools

Fusion 360

OpenFOAM

Python

CNC CAM

3D printing

Job description

Hydromea is a Swiss deep-tech company enabling subsea data harvesting at scale through patented underwater robotics, communication, and thruster technologies. We serve the energy, defence, marine science, and industrial sectors. We're passionate about pushing the boundaries of underwater exploration, ocean discovery and providing our partners with tools for efficient, sustainable operations and critical submerged asset security.

What you will do:

• Lead industrialisation and manufacturing-transfer projects:
  • Translate engineering developments into practical industrialisation plans, with clear milestones, budgets, responsibilities and acceptance criteria.
  • Coordinate activities across engineering, suppliers, manufacturing partners and internal operations.
  • Manage dependencies, risks and outstanding actions; identify issues early and drive them to resolution.
  • Plan and coordinate prototype builds, pilot production and the transition to repeatable manufacturing.
  • Report progress, costs, risks and decisions clearly to management and partners.
• Set up and manage suppliers:
  • Identify, assess and onboard suppliers and manufacturing partners together with engineering and management.
  • Coordinate requests for quotation, supplier selection and agreement on specifications, lead times and deliverables.
  • Manage supplier activities covering components, tooling, fixtures, process development and production services.
  • Monitor supplier quality, delivery, capacity and cost; lead corrective actions where performance falls short.
  • Maintain clear working relationships and accountability across the supplier network.
• Own manufacturing documentation and production readiness:
  • Coordinate the preparation and release of manufacturing documentation, including bills of materials, assembly instructions, process specifications, inspection plans and test procedures.
  • Ensure that manufacturing partners work from approved, current documentation.
  • Establish practical document control, revision management and traceability.
  • Work with engineering and suppliers to improve manufacturability, assembly efficiency, yield and cost.
  • Coordinate production-readiness reviews and close outstanding actions before manufacturing release.
• Lead licensed manufacturing projects:
  • Act as Hydromea’s operational project lead for transferring agreed manufacturing processes and know-how to a licensee.
  • Coordinate the transfer package, partner training, equipment readiness, pilot builds and qualification activities.
  • Agree and track responsibilities, deliverables and acceptance milestones with the partner.
  • Ensure that technical information is transferred in a controlled manner, within the agreed contractual scope.
  • Capture manufacturing feedback and process improvements, and coordinate their review and incorporation with engineering.
  • Perform audits in a structured manner with subsequent registry and reporting.

Your Qualifications

Required:

• MSc in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Electrical Engineering, or similar
• 5+ years of industry experience in product development, including at least one full cycle from concept through to production-ready design
• Mechanical design, prototyping, manufacturing, and testing experience
• Experience in electric motor design — electromagnetic analysis, winding specification, thermal management
• Experience with injection moulding, overmoulding, resin encapsulation, or polymer processing
• 3D design proficiency (Fusion360 or equivalent)
• Basic programming skills (Python, embedded)
• Basic electronics design, assembly, and soldering skills
• Demonstrated "can do" entrepreneurial attitude — perseverance in achieving goals
• Ability to multitask and prioritise in a dynamic environment
• Willingness to travel for tests and deployments
• Experience with subsea testing — hyperbaric chambers, sealing design, material behaviour in saltwater at depth
• Experience with a full cycle of stage-gate product development
• Experience managing external engineering consultancies or research partners
• Experience with vacuum potting or 2-component moulding processes
• CFD experience (OpenFOAM or equivalent)
• CNC / CAM experience
• Experience with rapid prototyping and hand tools

Location: On-site in Renens, Switzerland. A highly collaborative, build-fast environment focused on real-world deployment.