Director, Manufacturing Engineering

Divergent is a technology company that has architected, invented, built, and commercialized an end-to-end factory system called the Divergent Adaptive Production System (DAPS™) that comprehensively uses machine learning to optimally engineer, additively manufacture, and flexibly assemble complex integrated vehicle structures and subsystems. Products created using DAPS are superior in performance, lower in cost, rapidly customizable to meet mission and customer-specific requirements, faster to market, and scalable on demand to high volume production. Divergent is a qualified Tier 1 supplier to global automotive OEMs, and Divergent is now expanding to support mission critical needs in the Aerospace and Defense sector.

We are seeking a proven and highly talented Director of Manufacturing Engineering. The right candidate will champion design for manufacturability, ensuring designs are optimized for Divergent's Adaptive Production System (DAPS) designed to disrupt and replace traditional vehicle manufacturing. They will also be excellent at troubleshooting complex manufacturing issues to support production goals. This role requires a strong leader capable of fostering a high-performing, agile, and innovative culture, with a deep understanding of advanced manufacturing environments.

Responsibilities

Team Leadership and Development:

• Build and lead a high-performing engineering team, fostering a culture of agility, innovation, and excellence.
• Recruit, develop, train, and retain exceptional leaders and individual contributors, ensuring high talent density and continuous skill enhancement.
• Guide and mentor manufacturing engineers to achieve production goals, including cost and lead-time reduction, improving yield, optimizing manufacturing strategies, and eliminating non-value-added processes.
  
  

Manufacturing Process Management And Lifecycle Design

• Manage the transition of parts and assemblies from development to high-rate production, ensuring seamless integration and scalability.
• Assess and influence designs during development phases to ensure manufacturability and design to cost factors, leveraging Divergent's DAPS manufacturing stack and ensure a smooth transition from early-stage development to full-scale production.
• Address and resolve hardware nonconformance issues promptly, providing guidance and support to resolve complex problems.
• Own documentation required for successfully manufacturing product group hardware at scale, such as work instructions and process plans.
• Oversee the design and specification process for new machine onboarding to ensure DAPS manufactured parts meet requirements.
  
  

Performance Optimization And Continuous Improvement

• Champion continuous improvement initiatives to ensure timely resolution of non-conformances, reduce overall manufacturing lead-time and workcenter cycle-times, improve first-pass yield, and implement improved tooling and new manufacturing capabilities.
• Act as a "forcing function" for excellence, aggressively pursuing cost reduction strategies across all aspects of design, production, and supply chain processes.
• Develop and implement manufacturing engineering metrics to measure productivity and identify areas for optimization.
  
  

Strategic Planning And Execution

• Partner with cross-functional teams to align production strategies with organizational objectives and ensure successful new product introductions.
• Actively support factory design and development, facilities planning, staffing decisions, and leadership development initiatives.
• Develop and execute strategic plans to enhance production capabilities, incorporating new technologies and methodologies.
• Monitor and communicate area status, readiness, and risks to senior leadership, providing regular updates and insights to inform decision-making.
  
  

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, manufacturing, aerospace engineering, or a related field. A Master’s degree is preferred.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in a manufacturing engineering role, with at least 5 years in a leadership position.
• Proven track record in managing manufacturing processes for high-end automotive, aerospace, or defense hardware.
• Proficiency in CAD and geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T).
• Familiarity with advanced manufacturing techniques and continuous improvement methodologies (e.g., Lean, Six Sigma).
• Strong leadership and team-building skills, with the ability to inspire and motivate a high-performing team.
• Excellent problem-solving abilities and attention to detail.
• Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills, capable of working effectively with diverse teams and stakeholders.
• Experience architecting manufacturing enterprise systems (MES), product lifecycle management (PLM), and other production systems.
  
  

$173,000 - $216,000 a year

What You’ll Get

Holistic Compensation Package: Enjoy a world-class compensation package that includes a competitive salary, equity plan, and discretionary results-based incentive bonus opportunities, ensuring you're truly valued for your contributions.

Wellness and Time Off: Embrace a healthy lifestyle with paid vacation, sick time, and company holidays, including a year-end shutdown to recharge. We support growing families with paid parental leave, recognizing the importance of bonding time.

Comprehensive Health and Wellness: Prioritize your well-being with our comprehensive health and wellness benefits, offering both HMO and Premium PPO options. Additionally, benefit from company-sponsored life insurance and short and long-term disability coverage for peace of mind.

Investment in Growth: We're committed to your professional development. Take advantage of reimbursement opportunities for learning and development initiatives, empowering you to continuously expand your skill set and reach peak performance.

Inclusive and Collaborative Environment: Join our inclusive, collaborative, and dynamic work environment within a fast-paced, mission-driven company. Together, we're disrupting the traditional manufacturing industry, embracing diversity, and fostering innovation to reduce our footprint by integrating people and technology.

Divergent is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity in the workplace. Our positions adhere to all statutory and regulatory requirements. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, gender identity or any other factor protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.

Disclosures

In order to adjust to changes in our business, it may become necessary to add, remove or modify certain duties and responsibilities, or to reassign you to another job position. From time to time you may be asked to work on special projects or to assist with other work. Your cooperation and assistance in performing such additional work is expected. Divergent Technologies, Inc , Inc is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity in the workplace. Our positions adhere to all statutory and regulatory requirements. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, gender identity or any other factor protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.

EEO Poster

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Pursuant to the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance (FCIHO), we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

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