Manufacturing Engineer

About Us

unspun is a robotics and digital apparel company based in Emeryville, CA. Our mission is to reduce global carbon emissions by 1% through automated, localized, and intentional manufacturing.

Recently included in Time's Best Inventions & Fast Company's World Changing Ideas, unspun aims to rapidly transition the trillion-dollar apparel world into one that is more intentional, inclusive, and efficient by focusing on the overlap between sustainability and profitability— on-demand (and automated) manufacturing.

What We're Building

We’ve developed a proprietary and patented technology at the crossroads of 3D printing and automated textile manufacturing called 3D weaving. By skipping the flat 2D fabric stage, we can additively build custom apparel products from the ground up— straight from yarns to seamless final product. If climate tech, robotics, fashion, and massive build projects get you excited, we’d love to talk!

About You

You enjoy working on early-stage teams and have experience in manufacturing quality work. 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're excited about the idea of being the first quality / Manufacturing Engineer on a team, and have confidence in your background to build procedures from zero to one.

As part of the early Engineering Operations team, you will be the core interface between the design & build teams as we begin production of our first Vega machines. As we order tens of thousands of custom parts & ramp up in-house production of multiple machines in Q1, you will ensure parts are ordered & received to proper spec, build quality is consistent, and engineering build plans & change orders are created & carefully executed. We’re looking for someone with direct prior experience in early manufacturing stages, someone that's game to be hands-on with our engineering and technician teams, and someone who is excited about the risks and rewards of joining an early-stage startup.

What You’ll Do

• Create manufacturing processes, work instructions, and quality control procedures for assemblies, custom hardware, and our in-house build team
• Implement new processes for Manufacturing & Document Change Orders in an early build & operations team
• Collaborate with the design & technician teams on best practices and improvements to work instructions
• Find and mitigate timeline bottlenecks in machine assembly & commissioning of initial Vega builds in 2024
• After our in-house assembly is perfected, help establish external relationships with Contract Manufacturers to further scale our machine production into 2025 and beyond
  

Our Philosophy

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.

Requirements

• 3+ years of relevant experience in quality optimization & hardware production-- specifically physical, electromechanical systems
• Expertise in design for manufacturability & assembly in low-medium volume manufacturing
• Documented experience working through development, prototyping, testing, and production of hardware components
• Documented experience in capacity modeling, error & fault analysis, and process mapping
• Excellent written & verbal communication skills, demonstrated leadership experience in some form, and a proven ability to lead in multi-team problem solving
• Willing to work extended hours and/or weekends as necessary during critical build pushes
• Willing to spend a significant amount of time hands-on on the factory floor & building prototype hardware, occasionally lifting up to 50 lbs
• A Bachelor's degree in related engineering filed, or an additional four years of relevant experience if self-taught
• A strong desire to work on climate-positive tech and to leave the world better than you found it

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.

Bonus Points

• Experience across electrical, machined aluminum, injection molding, casting, and sheet metal forming manufacturing methods
• A strong foundation in statistical analysis
• Experience in PLM & MES tools (Duro, First Resonance, etc)
• Experience in fast-paced, early stage R&D projects
• Experience with textile machinery

Benefits

• COMPENSATION: $109,000 - $120,000 + 0.06% - 0.08% equity, depending on experience
• self-regulated vacation policy

• Comprehensive (gold & platinum) health/dental/vision insurance (or equivalent annual cash bonus if already insured elsewhere)
• Company-sponsored 401k
• Monthly gym membership or relevant online education grant of up to $150/month
• Pre-tax commuter benefits
• Generous equity in a venture-backed, early-stage startup.
• For more on life at unspun, please read here.

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.