Prototype-to-Production Manager

Motivo; California (MO); On-site; USD 130,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) match

Vacation time

4/10 workweek

Profit sharing

Job summary

Motivo is seeking a Prototype-to-Production Manager to lead and scale its Launch division. You will bridge engineering, supply chain, manufacturing, and client delivery to ensure manufacturability and unit economics are built into early product decisions.

You’ll define an operating model for Launch, balancing technical ambition with production reality, enabling a scalable path from prototype to production across varied builds and client programs.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive leadership experience in manufacturing, industrial engineering, operations, NPI, or product realization.
• Demonstrated success owning transition from development builds to pilot production.
• Ability to build or formalize operating systems and governance.
• Strong command of DFM, DFA, process validation, PFMEA, and production tradeoffs.
• Knowledge of supplier qualification, sourcing strategy, and cost planning.

Responsibilities

• Lead a matrixed team across manufacturing, engineering, sourcing, fabrication, and program execution to ensure manufacturability and production readiness.
• Define and deploy Motivo’s MVL (Minimum Viable Line) approach for low-rate production and learning.
• Establish gates, pilot objectives, and handoff standards from concept to reliable execution.
• Make pragmatic tradeoff decisions to protect product intent while enabling production success.
• Evaluate programs at the proposal stage to shape scope, risk, and commercial strategy.
• Expand a resilient supply base and sourcing model for prototyping and low-volume production.

Skills

Leadership experience

Manufacturing operations

NPI / product realization

DFM / DFA / PFMEA

Supply chain & cost modeling

Tools

ERP

PLM

PDM

MES

Job description

Motivo is a project-based company delivering excellence in mechanical and electrical system design and prototype builds. We have a history in successfully taking concepts through to actual finished solutions. Our work spans a wide range of market segments including mobility/automotive, aerospace, robotics, and clean energy, to name a few. Every team member will experience a wide variety of challenging projects, offering rich opportunities for professional growth. We are passionate about solving complex engineering challenges, striving for excellence within every unique project constraint, and believe in having fun while we do it!

About the role

Motivo is seeking a Prototype-to-Production Manager to lead and scale our newly formalized “Launch” division. At Motivo, “Launch” isn’t about closing the gap between mankind and the moon, it's about closing the gap between prototypes and production. This leader will sit at the critical intersection of engineering, supply chain, manufacturing, and client delivery, ensuring that manufacturability, operational readiness, and unit economics are built into product decisions early rather than solved late. The role is intentionally scoped with a clear path to broader independence and ownership as the capability matures.

What you’ll do

As the Prototype-to-Production Manager, you are a builder-leader with expertise to architect and execute the operating model for Launch - balancing technical ambition, manufacturing reality, speed, flexibility, and cost to create a scalable path from prototype to production. Depending on the product and client, these initial builds may be in quantities of dozens of units for large complex builds (like an electric tractor) or into the thousands for smaller devices (like a computer vision system for industrial robots).

• Launch Operations Leadership: Lead a matrixed team spanning manufacturing, engineering, sourcing, fabrication, and program execution to ensure products are designed with manufacturability, quality, and production readiness in mind from the outset.
• Minimum Viable Line (MVL) Strategy: Define, deploy, and continuously improve Motivo’s Minimum Viable Line approach; a manual-first, right-sized production system that enables low-rate initial production, process learning, and repeatable output before scale capital is committed for high-volume scale manufacturing.
• Building Production Readiness into the Design Process: Establish review gates, pilot build manufacturing objectives, and production handoff standards that move programs from concept validation to reliable execution.
• Product Realization Oversight: Serve as a senior decision-maker when technical requirements and scalable manufacturing realities conflict - driving pragmatic tradeoff decisions that protect product intent while enabling production success.
• Proposal and Opportunity Assessment: Partner at the proposal stage to evaluate whether a client program requires design-only support or an integrated Launch approach - shaping scope, risk posture, and commercial strategy. Develop and improve batch-build and production readiness cost estimation models and rules of thumb.
• Supply Chain Architecture: Expand a resilient supply base and sourcing model that supports prototyping, pilot builds, and low-volume production, including vendor qualification, make-buy decisions, lead-time strategy, and commercial negotiation.
• Operational Systems Roadmap: Define the roadmap for fit-for-purpose systems and tools - including spreadsheets where appropriate, and over time right-sized ERP, PLM, PDM, MES, or related systems - to support Launch maturity without introducing unnecessary overhead too early.

Qualifications

Required

• Experience: 8+ years of progressive leadership experience in manufacturing, industrial engineering, operations, NPI, or product realization, ideally in electromechanical hardware.
• Organizational Leadership: Demonstrated success owning the transition from development builds to pilot production, low-volume or scaled manufacturing, with responsibility for planning, risk, and cross-functional execution.
• Systems Builder: Proven ability to build or formalize operating systems, processes, and governance from the ground up in environments that are scaling quickly or moving from prototype toward production.
• Technical Depth: Strong command of DFM, DFA, process validation, PFMEA, production line design, test strategy, and manufacturing tradeoff decision-making.
• Supply Chain and Commercial Acumen: Strong grasp of supplier qualification, sourcing strategy, cost structure, negotiations, and operational planning.

Preferred

• Experience in automotive, aerospace, robotics, autonomous systems, energy, or other advanced hardware sectors where design-to-production transitions are complex and high stakes.
• Familiarity with quality and regulated manufacturing environments, including standards such as ISO 9001, AS9100, or IATF 16949.
• Familiarity with Lean Six Sigma principles, with a specific focus on value stream mapping, root cause analysis (e.g., 5 Whys), and eliminating process waste
• Experience working in high-mix, low-volume settings and building the bridge from engineering agility to operational discipline.
• Comfort operating as a senior individual leader today, while building toward broader organizational leadership responsibilities over time.

Why Lead Launch at Motivo?

We’re building something special here. This is a chance to define a core part of Motivo’s future, influence how we work, and see your fingerprints on the products we launch. You’ll have a seat at the table, real autonomy, and a clear path to own a significant piece of our work as we grow.

Who you are

Maybe you’re an operations or production leader at a startup, and you’re ready to turn all of your learnings from the “school of hard knocks” into more repeatable execution - without losing the speed and risk tolerance of early development. Maybe you have a lot of experience in product development and have big ideas about how Artificial Intelligence can make standing up new, flexible production systems faster and less expensive. Maybe you’re an operations leader at an established technology company and feel weighed down by bureaucracy and a lack of imagination. Whoever you are, we are excited to hear what you can bring to our unique challenges and inspiring client base.

We’re convinced that the team and the projects are hands-down the best part of working at Motivo. To support that, we offer a solid benefits package, including high-quality insurance, a 401(k) match, generous vacation time, and our Monday-Thursday 4/10 workweek. We offer profit-sharing bonuses, which are tied to overall company performance, because we believe in winning together; we’re transparent about the company’s numbers, and when our hard work drives financial success, employees may share in the upside.

• Base Salary Range: $130,000 - $160,000
• Salary is dependent on experience, knowledge, and interview performance.