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Emeryville, California, United States
Onsite
Foundry Robotics is building an AI-native robotics manufacturing company focused on deploying advanced assembly and production capability for leading robotics companies and national-security-critical hardware. Basically, we're building robots that build robots. Our mission is to rebuild the American manufacturing industry as an AI-first, assembly-focused, dual-use contract manufacturer. As a founding member of our team, you will have a direct and significant impact on our product, culture, and ultimate success. This role is 100% in-person at our office in Emeryville, CA.
This role owns the engineering that turns a research result into a machine we can build repeatedly: mechanical design, manufacturing and process engineering, and quality. It also owns the commercial relationship that keeps the floor staffed — the staffing agency supplying our hourly contract technicians.
Own end-to-end hiring for mechanical, manufacturing, process, test, and quality engineering.
Refuse to open a req without a competency map. Decompose each role into assessable skills with the hiring manager.
Build and run interviewer training and calibration for manufacturing and mechanical loops — including floor leads who have never interviewed before and believe they are already good at reading people.
Own talent competitor analysis across contract manufacturers, hardware startups, aerospace, and automotive.
Own the staffing agency relationship for hourly contract technicians: selection, rate negotiation, SLAs, scorecards, and quality standards (with support of VP People)
Hold the agency to our bar, not theirs. Define the screen, audit who they send, track conversion and 90-day retention of the contractors placed, and replace the agency if the quality is not there.
Founder mentality: We love people who build like it’s their own company. You move fast, take ownership, and find a way through when the path isn’t obvious. You have the drive to make big things happen and the judgment to take smart risks along the way. If you prefer a clearly defined lane, a predictable pace, and all the answers before you start, there’s nothing wrong with that—but Foundry might not be the right fit.
5+ years of technical recruiting, including real time hiring mechanical, manufacturing, or quality engineers in a hardware environment.
You can hold a real conversation about tolerance stack-ups, DFM, GD&T, or the difference between an EVT and a PVT build — and you know when to stop pretending and go ask.
You have managed a staffing agency relationship and improved it, including the conversation where you tell them the quality is not good enough.
Comfortable on a shop floor in steel toes and safety glasses.
You have built a competency map, not just filled one in, and you have trained non-recruiters to interview and made it stick.
You are AI-efficient and use tooling to multiply your own sourcing output rather than grinding through lists by hand.
You will tell a leader under deadline pressure that this is a no-hire, and hold it.
Contract manufacturing, production ramp, or high-mix low-volume environments.
Hiring into ITAR-controlled programs, including contractor eligibility constraints.
Second- and third-shift staffing experience.
Straight Talk About this Role
We practice ethical hiring
Agency management is roughly a third of this job. If you only want to run engineering searches, this is not the seat.
When the build slips, pressure to lower the bar arrives immediately, and it comes from people you like.
You should be able to sell equity at a young company. Cash packages here are not "Big Tech" money, so you'll need to know exactly what makes Foundry different
How we hire
How we hire, including how we will hire you: each interviewer digs into one skill and reports back on just that. The hiringmanager pulls it all together and decides. We are not measured on speed-to-fill. We are measured on whether the people we hired are still performing 12 to 18 months later. A bad hire is worse than no hire, and we would rather be held to that.
This is one of the only places where world-class manufacturing operators, mechanical engineers, robotics researchers, and software engineers sit in the same room — building production systems together.
We are committed to being deeply embedded in the U.S. industrial base. Our focus is simple: build adaptive robotic assembly systems that make American manufacturing scalable, resilient, and competitive again.
If you want to build the commercial engine that brings AI-driven manufacturing to every industrial and energy customer in America — this is it.
The base salary range for this full-time position in the location of Emeryville is: $145,000 - $180,000 USD
Compensation packages at Foundry Robotics for eligible roles include base salary, equity, and benefits. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position, determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, interview performance, and relevant education or training. Foundry Robotics employees in eligible roles are also granted equity based compensation, subject to Board of Director approval. You'll also receive benefits including, but not limited to: Comprehensive health, dental and vision coverage, and generous PTO.
Foundry Robotics is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.
