Director NPI & Industrialization arbeitnow Sereact GmbH Stuttgart Schockenriedstr. 17 · 10/21/2026

Primetime; Stuttgart; Hybrid; EUR 110,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Flexible PTO

Ownership of hardware product

Job summary

Primetime is seeking a Director of NPI & Industrialization to own the hardware product from architecture to a frozen, build-ready design for contract manufacturers. You will report to the CEO/CTO and partner with Supply Chain to ensure seamless handoffs and scalable volume production, driving cost, reliability, and manufacturability.

You will lead a cross-functional team across mechanical, electrical and controls, set up PLM discipline, and establish robust DVT and ECN processes while expanding

Qualifications

• 10+ years in hardware, mechatronics or electromechanical product engineering, including several years leading engineering teams
• Track record of taking complex electromechanical product from prototype to series production at hundreds of units per year
• Experience building hardware engineering or industrialization function from scratch in a scaleup or growth-stage company
• Degree in mechanical, electrical or mechatronics engineering or related field, or equivalent practical experience
• Hands-on depth across mechanical, electrical and controls integration
• Strong command of DfX (DfM, DfA, design for service and cost)
• Reliability engineering experience with DVT, HALT and FMEA
• Experience setting up PLM, configuration management and change control
• Direct experience handing a released design to a contract manufacturer or EMS partner and supporting the first builds
• Fluent English and willingness to travel to suppliers and customer sites
• German fluency

Responsibilities

• Own the system design of the robotic cell across mechanical, electrical and controls integration
• Lead development of adaptive force-controlled gripper and end-effectors
• Take each product from working prototype through DVT and qualification to a released design
• Collaborate with software teams on hardware and software interfaces and trade-offs
• Build design for manufacture, assembly, service and cost into every product
• Set up and run a Design-Transfer Gate with Supply Chain for complete, buildable packages
• Design critical parts to be standardized and second-sourceable
• Install reliability engineering practices including DVT, HALT, FMEA and tolerance analysis
• Run root-cause loop on field failures with Technical Support and reduce design-related returns
• Set up PLM, BOMs, drawings, specs and ECN/ECO discipline for reproducible revisions
• Own hardware roadmap and cost-down programs
• Hire and lead hardware/mechatronics team and set cadence
• Travel to suppliers and customer sites as needed

Skills

Mechatronics

Leadership

Hardware integration

DfX

Reliability engineering

PLM & CM

English fluency

German fluency

Education

Mechanical engineering degree

Electrical engineering degree

Mechatronics degree

Tools

PLM systems

Configuration management

Change control

Job description

We build the intelligence that lets robots sense, reason, and act in the real world, moving beyond the lab and into everyday industrial settings like warehouses and factories. Our technology closes the automation gaps that traditional systems can't solve. We are on a mission to redefine how physical work gets done, and we're looking for curious, bold thinkers to help shape the future of robotics with us.

Overview:

Our AI-driven pick-and-place and returns-handling cells combine robot arms, adaptive force-controlled grippers, AI vision and a safety cabinet, all driven by Cortex, our vision-language-action model. They already run in live warehouse operations across the EU and US. After our Series B, we are scaling from around 50 units a year to several hundred, built by external contract manufacturers. We're looking for a Director of NPI & Industrialization to own the hardware product from architecture to a frozen, documented design that a contract manufacturer can build to spec and our customers can rely on. You will report to the CEO and CTO and work closely with our Director of Supply Chain & Hardware Operations, who takes your released designs into volume production.

Your Responsibilities:

Own the system design of the robotic cell across mechanical, electrical and controls integration, including robot arm integration, vision and sensor integration, cabinet, wiring and machine safety

Lead development of our adaptive force-controlled gripper and end-effectors, which are core IP for Sereact

Take each product from working prototype through DVT and qualification to a frozen, released design

Work with the Cortex software team on hardware and software interfaces and trade-offs

Build design for manufacture, assembly, service and cost into every product from the start

Set up and run a Design-Transfer Gate with Supply Chain, so every product handed to a contract manufacturer arrives as a complete, buildable package

Design critical parts to be standardized and second-sourceable

Reliability, Quality & Documentation

Install reliability engineering practice, including DVT, HALT, FMEA and tolerance and worst-case analysis

Run a root-cause loop on field failures with Technical Support and drive design-related returns down

Set up PLM, BOMs, drawings, specifications, configuration management and ECN/ECO discipline so every revision is documented and reproducible

Roadmap, Cost & Team

Own the hardware roadmap, including the next-generation cell and the split between bespoke builds and a standardized product line

Run design-to-cost programs and bring BOM cost per unit down over time

Hire and lead the hardware and mechatronics engineering team and set its working cadence and accountability

Qualifications:

Education and Experience

10+ years in hardware, mechatronics or electromechanical product engineering, including several years leading engineering teams

A track record of personally taking a complex electromechanical product from prototype through design freeze into series production at hundreds of units per year

Experience building a hardware engineering or industrialization function from scratch in a scaleup or growth-stage company

Degree in mechanical, electrical or mechatronics engineering or a related field, or equivalent practical experience

Skills

Hands-on depth across mechanical, electrical and controls integration

Strong command of DfX (DfM, DfA, design for service and cost)

Reliability engineering experience with DVT, HALT and FMEA

Experience setting up PLM, configuration management and change control

Direct experience handing a released design to a contract manufacturer or EMS partner and supporting the first builds

Fluent English and willingness to travel to suppliers and customer sites

Additional Skills / Nice to Have

Robotics or manipulation experience, such as grippers, end-effectors, force control, robot arm integration or machine vision

Machine safety experience, including CE marking, the Machinery Directive and functional safety

Experience integrating hardware with an AI or software stack

Experience turning demos and pilots into repeatable production products

German fluency

What We Offer:

Competitive salary and equity in a fast-growing Series B robotics company

Flexible PTO and a collaborative, high-ownership culture

Ownership of the hardware product and the team that builds it as we scale to hundreds of units a year

This overview was written from the original listing to help you understand the role. Always confirm the specifics on the employer's application page.