Prototype-to-Production Leader, Hardware NPI

Heron Power Inc.; Scotts Valley, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Heron Power Inc. in Scotts Valley, CA seeks a Manufacturing Program Leader to drive the transition from prototype builds to high-volume production.

You will lead the pilot technician team, own the master build schedule, and coordinate across design, manufacturing, supply chain, and quality to keep builds on plan. This role is hands-on on the factory floor with a path to Head of Production as the company scales.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a technical field required.
• 7+ years in NPI, prototype build, or hardware manufacturing engineering.
• 2–3+ years managing a technician or build team.
• Experience owning prototype to production ramp-to-volume.
• Willingness to be hands-on on the factory floor.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration across design, supply chain, and manufacturing.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end build program execution for prototypes and early engineering builds.
• Build and lead the pilot technician organization and career paths as build volume grows.
• Coordinate across design engineering, manufacturing engineering, supply chain, quality, and EPMs to keep builds aligned with a single plan.
• Maintain build readiness plans, run readiness reviews, and close items with owners and dates.
• Own the manufacturing transition of early processes to production, defining production-ready criteria.
• Coordinate engineering change cutovers and plan unique builds without derailing the core schedule.
• Own the master build schedule and risk mitigation, account for long-lead parts, and drive contingency plans.
• Monitor yield and drive issue resolution with root-cause analysis.
• Maintain dashboards and KPI reporting for leadership and executives.
• Identify cost and process improvement opportunities and lead tradeoff discussions.

Skills

NPI program leadership

Manufacturing program management

Floor leadership

Cross-functional coordination

Strong communicator

Program dashboards

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical/Electrical/Industrial Engineering

Tools

Jira

Confluence

Job description

Heron Power Inc. in Scotts Valley, CA seeks a Manufacturing Program Leader to drive the transition from prototype builds to high-volume production.

You will lead the pilot technician team, own the master build schedule, and coordinate across design, manufacturing, supply chain, and quality to keep builds on plan. This role is hands-on on the factory floor with a path to Head of Production as the company scales.