Director Additive Manufacturing Engineer Jobs in California

Hadrian - Manufacturing the Future
Hadrian is building autonomous factories that help aerospace and defense companies manufacture rockets, satellites, jets, and ships up to 10x faster and up to 2x cheaper. By combining advanced software, robotics, and full-stack manufacturing, we are reinventing how America produces its most critical parts.
We're accelerating our mission with the launch of Factory 3 in Mesa, Arizona, a 290,000-square-foot facility creating 350 new jobs. We are expanding rapidly to support thousands of future hires, launching Hadrian Maritime to expand into naval production, and introducing a Factory-as-a-Service model that delivers complete systems instead of individual parts.
Hadrian is backed by leading investors including T. Rowe Price, Lux Capital, Founders Fund, and Andreessen Horowitz, our fast-growing team is united around reindustrializing American manufacturing for the 21st century and beyond.
We're looking for a hands-on systems engineer who can take metal additive manufacturing equipment from standalone machines to fully integrated, automated production systems. This is the hands-on AM technical authority on the team. You will lead the commissioning, qualification, and production readiness of all PBF-LB systems executing FAT, SAT, IQ, and OQ protocols against the Hadrian standard, owning machine-level reliability programs, and serving as technical interface to OEM field engineers. You will also own cell-level P&IDs and support automation integration, ensuring every machine is production-ready by end of year.
RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Systems Integration and OPUS Enablement: Execute the end-to-end integration of metal AM machines, peripherals, and cell infrastructure into OPUS, Lead FAT and SAT for all incoming PBF-LB systems against Hadrian acceptance criteria - coordinating OEM field engineers, documenting results, and driving resolution of open items to production release.
• Integration Architecture and Standards: Define system requirements, interface control documents (ICDs), integration kits, and machine acceptance criteria that scale across multiple OEMs, configurations, and sites.
• Commissioning, FAT/SAT, and Qualification Support: Build and own factory acceptance test (FAT) and site acceptance test (SAT) playbooks, commissioning checklists, and validation plans. Partner with Quality and Process teams to ensure integrated systems support qualification and production release.
• Reliability, Maintainability, and Uptime: Experience reliability engineering discipline for AM equipment (PM strategy, spares, calibration, MTBF and MTTR tracking, failure mode mitigation). Ability to structured root cause and corrective action with OEMs and internal teams.
• Machine Modification and Performance Upgrades: Lead efforts to implement hardware, firmware, and configuration improvements that increase build envelope utilization, process stability, and throughput (for example gas flow, recoater systems, calibration, and motion subsystems), while maintaining configuration control.
• Manufacturing Controls and Documentation: Own standard work for machine operation and integration points, including equipment control procedures, safety interlocks, change control, and training. Ensure readiness for regulated environments and customer audits.
• Cross-Functional Execution: Partner tightly with Additive Manufacturing, Materials and Process, Manufacturing Engineering, Software, Quality, Supply Chain, and Operations to industrialize solutions and deliver production commitments.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS:

• Bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or related field Master's degree is a plus.
• 5+ years of experience in metal additive manufacturing systems engineering, equipment engineering, automation, or factory-scale integration, with deep familiarity in metal LPBF.
• Hands-on knowledge of metal LPBF machine architecture and key subsystems including powder handling, optics, motion, recoater, build plate handling, atmospheres and gas flow, sensing and monitoring, and post-build workflow.
• Experience reading, redlining, and maintaining P&IDs for process utility systems in a manufacturing environment

• Familiarity with reliability engineering fundamentals - PM program design, MTBF/MTTR analysis, and structured problem-solving
• Experience managing OEM relationships and coordinating commissioning across multiple machine platforms
• Experience deploying automation in production manufacturing environments, including safety, interlocks, commissioning, and sustaining engineering.
• Strong problem-solving using structured methods (8D, 5 Whys, fishbone) and proven ability to drive corrective and preventive actions to closure.
• Willing to travel up to 20%, including international supplier visits.; U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident (required for ITAR compliance).

COMPENSATION:
For this role, the target salary range is $150,000 - $220,000(actual range may vary based on experience).
This is the lowest to highest salary we reasonably and in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range, and the range may be modified in the future. An employee's pay position within the salary range will be based on several factors, including, but not limited to, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, performance, and business or organizational needs.
Benefits for Full-time Employees

• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans for employees
• 401k
• Relocation support may be provided for certain situations, based on business need.
• Flexible vacation policy
• Equity

ITAR Requirements
To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.
Use of AI in hiring
Hadrian uses AI-assisted tools in our recruiting and hiring processes to help our team work more efficiently. This may include tools that help organize and analyze recruiting data, as well as an AI-powered notetaker that can record and transcribe interviews and help coordinate feedback. These tools support our team and are not used to make hiring decisions. All candidate evaluations and hiring decisions are performed by humans. If an interview will be recorded, you will be notified in advance and may opt out at any time with no impact on your candidacy. Candidate data processed through these tools is subject to the same protections described in our Privacy Policy.
Hadrian Is An Equal Opportunity Employer
It is the Company's policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees. The Company does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race inclusive of traits historically associated with race (including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles, such as braids, locks and twists), color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, national origin (including, in California, possession of a drivers license), ancestry, citizenship, age, physical or mental disability, height or weight, medical condition, family care status, military or veteran status, marital status, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, genetic information, exercise of reproductive rights, any other basis protected by local, state, or federal laws, or any combination of the above characteristics. When necessary, the Company also makes reasonable accommodations for disabled candidates and employees, including for candidates or employees who are disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.