Job Description

Pilot Production Lead

We are a renewable energy and ocean technology company committed to rapidly developing and deploying technologies that will ensure a sustainable future for Earth by unlocking the vast energy potential of its oceans. Our focus is on capturing civilizational levels of ultra-low-cost renewable energy for applications including computing and affordable renewable fuels delivered to shore.

The company is a public benefit corporation headquartered in Portland, Oregon, and backed by leading venture capitalists, philanthropic investors, university endowments, and private investment offices. We operate as an idea meritocracy in which the best ideas change the company's direction on a regular basis.

Our staff have worked at organizations such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, Boeing, Tesla, Apple, Virgin Orbit, Astra, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, New Relic, Bridgewater, Raytheon, Disney Imagineering, and the US Army and Air Force, as well as research universities, startups, and small companies across a range of industries. We are organized as a public benefit corporation and are backed by leading venture capital firms, private investors, philanthropic investors, and endowments.

About the Job

Our core technology is the node, a device that produces energy in the ocean's harshest conditions for years at a time without human maintenance or intervention.

This role leads pilot production: the place where new designs turn into real builds. You will start as a hands-on individual contributor working across several Portland-area facilities as we grow. Early on, your focus will be building the systems that make pilot production work: schedules, dashboards, and workflows that keep builds moving from first article testing to tight-turnaround production runs.

As we grow, you will build and lead a small production team. Your group will sit between development and factory-scale manufacturing, working closely with engineering, manufacturing development, quality, and supply chain teams to ensure that new products and processes scale smoothly when they move into the factory.

Responsibilities

• Translate project completion targets into production schedules and provide clear need-by dates to upstream teams
• Manage pilot production work both in-house and with contract manufacturing partners across multiple Portland-area sites
• Stand up and operate pilot production workstations in collaboration with Manufacturing Engineers
• Support the build-out of MRP and MES systems, including defining production transactions and workflows
• Build production dashboards and KPIs to track output, throughput, and bottlenecks
• Hire, train, and manage a production team as our pilot capacity grows
• Work closely with engineering teams to move new designs from prototype builds toward stable production

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years working cross-functionally with technical teams to produce a hardware product
• 25 years directly involved with pilot production (high-mix hardware builds working closely with design teams)
• Demonstrated ability to operate under aggressive production timelines
• Experience building and leading a team
• Experience building and using production dashboards or scorecards to drive improvements
• Familiarity with manufacturing methodologies such as Lean, Six Sigma, PDCA, or similar approaches
• Experience with factory tools and systems such as MES, SCADA, MRP, or QMS
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Desired Qualifications

• Production experience across multiple hardware domains, with specific interest in experience with steel structures, electronics or avionics systems, pressure vessels, or marine coatings
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related field
• Experience supporting new product introduction (NPI) or manufacturing development programs
• Experience improving manufacturing metrics such as OEE, throughput, yield, or cycle time
• Experience coordinating production across multiple facilities or external partners

The above qualifications are desired, not required. We encourage you to apply if you are a strong candidate with only some of the desired skills and experience listed.

Additional Requirements

• Must be authorized to work in the United States.

Compensation and Benefits

If hired for this full-time role, you will receive:

• Cash compensation of $145,000 - $185,000
• Equity in the company. We're all owners and if we're successful, this equity should be far and away the most valuable component of your compensation.
• A benefits package that helps you take care of yourself and your family, including:
• Flexible paid time off
• Health insurance (the company pays 100% of gold level PPO plan for full time employees, their partners, and dependents)
• Dental insurance (the company pays 100% for full time employees and 100% for their partners and dependents)
• Vision insurance (the company pays 100% for full time employees, their partners, and dependents)
• Disability insurance (the company pays 100% for a policy to provide long term financial support if you become disabled)
• Ability to contribute to tax-advantaged accounts, including 401(k), health FSA, and dependent care FSA
• Relocation assistance to facilitate your move to Portland (if needed).

Location

This is an on-site position. Our offices, lab, and shop are located in Portland, Oregon.

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