Manufacturing Engineer

Springcraft, Inc.; Palo Alto, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Equity

Paid time off

Job summary

Springcraft, based in Palo Alto, is hiring its first manufacturing hire to build and own the in-house fabrication capability. You will design production, select equipment, and scale from prototype to volume production, partnering with hardware engineers on DFM and tooling.

This foundational role requires hands-on leadership in a fast-growing hardware startup. You’ll own assembly processes, fixtures, tooling, calibration, throughput, and the supply chain, while shaping the manufacturing function

Qualifications

• 4+ years in manufacturing, production, or process engineering for electromechanical hardware.
• Experience taking a product from prototype to volume production.
• Fixture and tooling design with CAD proficiency.
• DFM/DFA principles and running DFM reviews with design teams.
• Sourcing, vendor management, BOM cost and lead-time tradeoffs.
• Authorized to work in the United States; visas not sponsored.

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 equipment
• Own throughput of test and measurement: per-unit calibration to end-of-line test
• Build the supply chain: sourcing, vendor qualification, lead-time management, 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

Hardware assembly know-how

DFM/DFA knowledge

CAD proficiency

Sourcing & vendor management

Tools

CAD software

Python scripting

Job description

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

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.