Entry Level Textile Research And Development Jobs

Unspun's mission is to reduce global human carbon emissions by 1%. To get there, we've created the tools needed to realize zero-waste production and circular reuse— a future where nothing becomes trash. The world's first 3D weaving tech, transforming yarn into clothes in minutes.

What We’re Building

We’ve developed a proprietary and patent-pending technology at the crossroads of 3D printing and automated textile manufacturing. By skipping the flat 2D fabric stage, we can additively build custom apparel products from the ground up- straight from yarn to final product. If additive manufacturing, industrial automation, and synchronized systems of hundreds of sensors & actuators gets you excited, we’d love to talk!

You enjoy working on fast-paced and early-stage R&D, and you enjoy bringing high quality products to market. You enjoy wearing multiple hats and switching between different contexts. You are capable of working independently and in a team while being flexible, self-motivated, and curious. You thrive on the lack of clear instructions at the beginning of ambitious projects, and your ability to learn, understand, and communicate clear instructions to others about a complicated process is one of your strengths. You have strong interpersonal skills and can help manage a complex testing program with competing needs from multiple sides of the organization. You probably love thinking about the things immediately around us, especially yarns, fabrics, clothing and the machines that make them. You enjoy daily challenges and relish the successes.

This Textile Technician role will support 3D weaving material development and production. You’ll work with the Product and Hardware teams to create the world’s first 3D woven products. We're looking for someone who has prior textile machinery experience, but also is game to jump in and help with other work as needed.

As part of the early technician team at unspun, you will be a core member operating, building, and supporting a completely new manufacturing process. We’re looking for someone with a few years of hands-on industry experience already, and someone who is excited about the risks and rewards of joining an early-stage startup.

• Operate and maintain our revolutionary robotic looms

• Produce new woven outputs and coordinate product runs

• Ensure product outputs meet desired specifications and quality control standards

• Maintain a safe and organized workspace

• Help identify limitations of technical approaches and provide insights about machine performance and reliability

• Test new machine subsystems

• Support machine and subsystem assembly

• Create and maintain documentation for internal communication and record keeping, including data collection during product runs and machine testing

• Be able to work on your feet and be comfortable working within a large machine for extended periods and perform occasional repetitive tasks

• Collaborate with the engineering team on experiments and results

• Identify and communicate suggested improvements to designs, documentation, or processes

• 2+ years of hands-on experience with textile machinery and production facilities, and ideally some hands-on experience with fabric production and/or development

• Some knowledge of textile fibers and yarns

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

• Experience and comfort working with machinery and robotics

• Interested in testing and debugging

• Strong problem-solving abilities and attention to detail

• Strong verbal and written communication skills... this is a team sport!

• Work on-site at our microfactory in Emeryville from 9a - 6p, Monday to Friday

• Ability to work on your feet for extended periods, perform occasional repetitive tasks, and occasionally lift up to 50 lbs

• Experience in Textiles, Design, Textile Engineering, Materials Science, or related fields

• Familiarity with industrial scale looms

• Energized by new ideas in apparel and product manufacturing. Comfortable in a fast-paced early-stage startup environment.

• Experience working on fast-paced early stage R&D projects

• Automation and robotics experience

• Manufacturing and factory experience

• Familiarity with hardware engineering design and implementation practices

• Familiarity with basic programming concepts

We don't expect you to have all of the listed qualities, and are looking for someone who hopes to learn those areas where they don't have as much experience. If you don't meet all of the requirements listed above, but can make up for it with a voracious passion to learn how to do so, we strongly encourage you to apply.

The salary range for this role is $76k - $94k USD annually (base hourly equivalent, plus overtime), plus 0.01% - 0.02% equity.

Benefits include

• self-regulated vacation policy

• comprehensive (gold & platinum) health/dental/vision insurance

• company sponsored 401k

• monthly gym membership or relevant online education grant of up to $150/month

• pre-tax commuter benefits

• weekly team lunches

• generous equity in a venture-backed, early-stage startup.

• For more on life at unspun, read here.

We won’t roll our eyes if your socks don’t match. We get it. But then, if you spend those extra few minutes in the morning matching your socks and shirt, we get that too. Our workspaces are sometimes spotless and sometimes chaotic, and we celebrate messy exploration. We work through complex problems but generate simple and elegant solutions. We strive to look at things differently, and never do anything solely because “that’s the way it’s always been done.”

We’re a team of designers and engineers, industry-veterans and serial entrepreneurs, artists and developers. We’re aspiring chess masters and climbers, bakers and photographers. Originally spun out of Stanford and the University of Colorado, we now call the SF Bay Area home, with strong ties to Hong Kong. We are looking for teammates who share our desire to work on ambitious problems, find deep meaning in their work, and leave the world better than we found it.

unspun is an equal opportunity employer, and we are committed to being a diverse team that reflects a broad range of background, thought, and experience. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, status as an individual with a disability, status as protected veteran, or any other legally protected characteristics. Women, minorities, and people from underrepresented backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.

Emeryville, CA (On-site)