Production Ops Engineer - AI-Driven Manufacturing

Socket.dev; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Medical, Dental, Vision insurance (eml

Life insurance

401(k)

Paid vacation and holidays

Parental Leave

Free daily catered lunch

Job summary

Freeform is seeking a Production Operations Engineer to oversee the flow of metal 3D printed parts through post-processing, reading drawings and GD&T, and communicating with customers and internal teams on status and disposition. The role requires hands-on manufacturing experience, strong communication skills, and the technical depth to read drawings and tolerances under production pressure.

Based in Hawthorne, CA, the position offers a path for growth as the company scales.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical, manufacturing, or related engineering field.
• Internship or professional experience in manufacturing, production, or quality engineering.
• Experience working with hand tools, machinery, or complex hardware assembly.
• Ability to read engineering drawings and communicate clearly with customers on technical topics.

Responsibilities

• Own the day-to-day flow of parts through post-processing, monitoring throughput and flagging issues before they become bottlenecks
• Evaluate part rework, deformation, and nonconformance against drawings and GD&T requirements, and determine appropriate disposition
• Communicate part status, rework decisions, and deviations directly with customers and internal stakeholders
• Support test procedures and inspection steps to ensure parts meet requirements before shipment
• Work with manufacturing development engineers to flag recurring process issues and provide floor-level feedback on tooling and fixturing performance
• Maintain accurate, up-to-date production tracking and documentation to support traceability and reporting
• Help identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies in how parts, materials, and data move through the factory, and work with cross-functional teams to resolve them

Skills

Hands-on production experience

Reading engineering drawings

Customer-facing communication

Problem-solving under pressure

Education

Bachelor's degree in mechanical, manufacturing, or related engineering field

Tools

MRP/ERP systems

Production tracking systems

Hand tools and machinery

Job description

Freeform is seeking a Production Operations Engineer to oversee the flow of metal 3D printed parts through post-processing, reading drawings and GD&T, and communicating with customers and internal teams on status and disposition. The role requires hands-on manufacturing experience, strong communication skills, and the technical depth to read drawings and tolerances under production pressure.

Based in Hawthorne, CA, the position offers a path for growth as the company scales.