Manufacturing Engineer

Springcraft; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Early-stage equity

Health, dental, and vision insurance

Paid time off

Job summary

Springcraft, Inc. is seeking the first dedicated manufacturing hire in Palo Alto, CA to design and stand up in-house fabrication. You will own assembly, fixtures, tooling, calibration, throughput, and the supply chain, aiming to build production capability in-house as the company grows.

You’ll work hands-on with hardware engineers on design-for-manufacturing feedback and drive yield improvements as production scales, with a competitive salary and meaningful early-stage equity.

Qualifications

• 4+ years in manufacturing, production, or process engineering for electromechanical hardware.
• Hands-on experience taking a product from prototype to volume production.
• Fixture and tooling design with strong CAD proficiency.
• DFM/DFA principles and conducting DFM reviews with design teams.
• Supply chain fundamentals: sourcing, vendor management, BOM cost and lead-time tradeoffs.
• Ability to build the process and the shop from scratch.
• Authorized to work in the United States; visa sponsorship not available.

Responsibilities

• Design production from a blank sheet: assembly sequences, fixtures, jigs, tooling, work instructions, and process documentation.
• Stand up in-house fabrication where it beats outsourcing: evaluate, purchase, and commission the equipment, and build the shop around it.
• Own the throughput of our test and measurement process, from per-unit calibration to end-of-line test.
• Build the supply chain: component sourcing, vendor qualification, lead-time management, and second-source planning.
• Partner with hardware engineers on DFM feedback ahead of design freezes.
• Drive yield improvement and root-cause analysis as production ramps.

Skills

Manufacturing experience

Prototype to volume production

CAD proficiency

DFM / DFA

Supply chain fundamentals

Process development

US work authorization

Tools

CAD software

Job description

About Springcraft

Today, building robots and intelligent machines means navigating fragmented tools, incompatible hardware, and closed ecosystems. It takes too long, costs too much, and locks builders in.

There is no default platform for physical AI. We're building it.

Springcraft brings together purpose-built hardware, developer tools, and AI models into one open, integrated system so that builders can create machines that sense, understand, and act in the real world.

Founded by the team behind 8th Wall, the largest AR platform for the web (acquired by Niantic), we bring deep experience in spatial computing. Backed by Night Capital, Eric Semler of TCS Capital, Village Global, and exceptional angels, we're based in Palo Alto and hiring our core team now.

About Springcraft

Today, building robots and intelligent machines means navigating fragmented tools, incompatible hardware, and closed ecosystems. It takes too long, costs too much, and locks builders in.

There is no default platform for physical AI. We're building it.

Springcraft brings together purpose-built hardware, developer tools, and AI models into one open, integrated system so that builders can create machines that sense, understand, and act in the real world.

Founded by the team behind 8th Wall, the largest AR platform for the web (acquired by Niantic), we bring deep experience in spatial computing. Backed by Night Capital, Eric Semler of TCS Capital, Village Global, and exceptional angels, we're based in Palo Alto and hiring our core team now.

The Role

Springcraft doesn't have a production line yet. You'll decide what it becomes, and then build it.

As the first manufacturing hire, you'll own how our hardware gets made, from first builds through volume production. That means the assembly processes, fixtures, tooling, calibration, throughput, and the supply chain behind it all. But the mandate is bigger than managing vendors. We believe owning fabrication in-house is a competitive advantage, and you'll decide what we bring in first, pick the machines, and stand the capability up yourself.

This is a foundational, hands‑on hire. You'll be on the bench and at the machines, partnering directly with our hardware engineers. You'll build the manufacturing function from zero and lead it as the company grows.

What You'll Do

• Design production from a blank sheet: assembly sequences, fixtures, jigs, tooling, work instructions, and process documentation
• Stand up in-house fabrication where it beats outsourcing: evaluate, purchase, and commission the equipment, and build the shop around it
• Own the throughput of our test and measurement process, from per‑unit calibration to end‑of‑line test
• Build the supply chain: component sourcing, vendor qualification, lead‑time management, and second‑source planning
• Partner with hardware engineers on DFM feedback ahead of design freezes
• Drive yield improvement and root‑cause analysis as production ramps

What We're Looking For

• 4+ years in manufacturing, production, or process engineering for electromechanical hardware
• Hands‑on experience taking a product from prototype to volume production
• Fixture and tooling design experience with strong CAD proficiency
• Working knowledge of DFM/DFA principles and experience running DFM reviews with design teams
• Supply chain fundamentals: sourcing, vendor management, BOM cost and lead‑time tradeoffs
• Comfortable building the process and the shop, rather than inheriting one
• Authorized to work in the United States; we are unable to sponsor work visas at this time

Nice to Have

• Experience standing up a machine shop, production line, or fabrication capability from scratch
• End‑of‑line test development, including automated test fixtures
• Scripting skills (Python or similar) for test automation and production data analysis
• Precision assembly and calibration experience from any demanding domain: motion systems, optics, instrumentation, medical devices
• Quality systems experience: incoming inspection, in‑process checks, unit traceability
• Experience scaling production at a hardware startup

Location

Palo Alto, CA (In‑Person)

Compensation

• Competitive salary ($120,000–$190,000) + meaningful early‑stage equity
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• Paid time off and holidays

Springcraft is an equal opportunity employer.