Director Advanced Manufacturing Jobs in California

This role serves as the technical bridge between design/manufacturing engineers and the production team, with a core focus on developing scalable, high-reliability automated, machining, & inspection processes. This person is responsible for driving process improvements, solving complex production challenges, and helping to eliminate part flow blockers. Rather than simply supporting products, this engineer leads process innovation enabling rapid iteration, increasing production efficiency, and helping scale Divergent's capabilities to meet program demands. 

As the Advance Manufacturing engineer, you will lead the development, execution, and continuous improvement of day-to-day operations for machining, automated assembly, automated anodize, inspection, & cleaning work centers. You'll be one of the primary technical resources supporting these areas with troubleshooting production issues, refining the processes, and enabling scalability through smart programming, tooling/fixturing, documentation, and workflow improvements. This role is hands-on, fast-paced, and essential to delivering high-precision, high-reliability hardware across automotive, aerospace, and defense programs. 

The ideal candidate is well versed in aerospace production environment and has direct experience with supporting the production floor, DFM, machining, assembly, coating, metrology, & thrives on solving complex shop floor problems, and brings a strong process mindset to drive quality, speed, and consistency.

Key Responsibilities 

Operations Support 

• Own daily production execution, working directly with production floor to resolve issues, and ensure steady throughput. 
• Develop and implement best practices, processes, strategies, and calibration procedures to improve operational capacity. 
• Monitor utilization and WIP flow through the work centers, help push/pull work as needed to maintain alignment with production targets. 

Technical Execution 

• Act as the technical bridge between design/manufacturing engineering and production teams. 
• Lead development, execution, and continuous improvement of machining, automated assembly, automated anodize, inspection, and cleaning work centers. 
• Collaborate on programming for 3-axis, 3+2, and 5-axis CNC mills using Siemens NX CAM software. 
• Provide feedback using advanced understanding of GD&T, tooling, feeds/speeds, and fixturing. 
• Introduce standardized strategies, programming conventions, and setup documentation to improve consistency and reduce cycle time. 
• Leverage metrology and inspection expertise to drive quality assurance in production. 

Process Development & Scalability 

• Help lead efforts to integrate new machines, equipment, tools, and fixturing into production; support commissioning. 
• Co-Drive design-for-manufacturing (DFM) conversations with Manufacturing engineering to improve part manufacturability and reduce complexity at the machine. 
• Develop and implement innovative fixturing strategies tailored for complex additive manufactured geometries. 
• Support integration of automated machining technologies to enhance scalability and precision. 

Continuous Improvement & Documentation 

• Analyze data to identify trends, inefficiencies, and root causes of scrap or delays; implement corrective actions and process improvements. 
• Create and maintain detailed documentation to ensure consistency and repeatability across shifts and teams. 
• Collaborate with software and data teams to integrate production metrics and feedback loops into real-time dashboards and planning systems. 

• Ability to lawfully access information and technology that is subject to US export controls
• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, or Industrial Engineering, or equivalent hands-on experience 
• 8+ years of experience in aerospace or defense industries. 
• Hands-on experience with advanced manufacturing techniques, including additive manufacturing, robotics, coatings, & inspection/quality 
• Direct experience with machining, additive manufacturing, coatings, & inspection/quality. 
• Proficiency in CAD/CAM software (e.g., Siemens NX, AutoCAD,) 
• Advanced knowledge of CNC machining, structure assembly, GD&T, tooling, & metrology. 
• Experience evaluating, selecting and commissioning of machines to meet manufacturing capabilities. 
• Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to innovate in a fast-paced environment. 
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively in cross-functional teams. 
• Ability to work on multiple projects and initiatives in parallel 

• Master's degree in mechanical, manufacturing, or aerospace engineering. 
• Experience with robotic machining systems and calibration methodologies 
• Experience with manufacturing automation in automotive or aerospace environments 

• This is a hands-on position that will require standing for long durations of your day and working directly with hardware on the floor. 
• Must be comfortable stooping, bending, and standing. 
• Position may require occasional travel, long hours or weekend work. 

At Divergent, our pay range is based on the level of the job. For this role, we will consider candidates at levels E03 - E05 as evaluated through our interview process. 

• Level 3 Engineer / E03 $91,800 - $126,200
• Level 4 Engineer / E04: $106,000 - $145,750
• Senior Engineer / E05: $122,400 - $168,300