Senior Manufacturing Design Engineer

Senior Manufacturing Design Engineer

Location: Mountain View, CA
Team: Operations
 

The Impact You’ll Make:

We are looking for our first Senior Manufacturing Design Engineer, you will own the path from prototype to mass production for our next-generation products: internally designed power electronics for utility-scale solar and proprietary structural systems for deploying solar in the field. You will be the technical bridge between our Power Systems, Mechanical Design, and Operations teams and our manufacturing partners, ensuring every design is manufacturable, testable, and scalable at target quality, cost, and yield. The initial focus is prototype development with our Power Systems team.

Key Responsibilities:

Prototype & NPI

•   Partner with Power Systems and Mechanical engineers from early concept to plan and execute prototype builds, including build plans, BOM readiness, work instructions, and build reports
•   Provide DFM/DFA/DFT feedback on power electronics assemblies, PCBAs, enclosures, harnesses, and structural components, grounded in supplier process capability
•   Lead products through EVT, DVT, and PVT into mass production with clear exit criteria, issue tracking, and closure
•   Plan and lead DOEs and validation builds to prove feasibility and manufacturing capability, and drive data-based design, process, and supplier decisions

Process & Supplier Development

•   Assess fabrication and assembly strategies, partner with Supply Chain on supplier selection, and buy off processes at suppliers and CMs: process flow, PFMEA, control plans, critical-to-quality characteristics, and end-of-line test
•   Specify and qualify jigs, fixtures, tooling, and test equipment; drive yield, cost, cycle time, and capacity improvements; own root cause and corrective action for build and field issues
•   Ensure production processes and traceability support product certification requirements (e.g., UL, IEC)

Cross-Functional Leadership

•   Align Engineering, Product, Supply Chain, Quality, and Operations, as well as external suppliers and partners, on design intent, manufacturing capability, schedule, and cost
•   Build 1AP's NPI playbook: phase gates, documentation standards, and SOPs that scale with the company

The Skills You Bring:

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Manufacturing, or Industrial Engineering, or a related field
• 6+ years in manufacturing engineering, manufacturing design engineering, or NPI for hardware products
• Proven track record taking hardware from prototype through EVT/DVT/PVT into mass production
• Hands-on experience with both electrical (PCBA, power electronics, harnessing) and mechanical (fabrication, assembly) manufacturing processes
• Direct experience in manufacturing process design, review, and buy-off at suppliers or contract manufacturers
• Experience with tooling and fixture design, DOE, PFMEA, and statistical process control; proficiency in 3D CAD and GD&T
• Self-starter who thrives with ambiguity and communicates clearly at all levels; willing to travel up to 25% domestically and internationally

Nice to Have:

• Experience in solar, energy storage, inverters/power conversion, EV, or other high-power electronics
• Experience at a hardware startup, ideally as an early or first-in-role hire
• Experience industrializing large-format metal structures (e.g., sheet metal, extrusion, welding, coatings)
• Familiarity with UL/IEC certification for power electronics; experience with suppliers in the U.S., Mexico, and Asia.
• MS in engineering

Benefits and Perks:

• Competitive Compensation Package

• Health Insurance: We offer 100% coverage of employee and 75% of dependent premiums under a Gold-level PPO plan. Dental & Vision Insurance: 50% of employee premiums are covered.

• Retirement Plan: A 401(k) plan with a 6% employer match.

Additional Information:

Minimum salary of $175,000 to maximum salary of $215,000 + equity + benefits.

The range provided is 1AP’s reasonable estimate of the base compensation for this role. The actual amount will be based on job-related and non-discriminatory factors such as location, experience, training, skills, and abilities. Consult with your Recruiter during the initial call to determine a more targeted range based on these job-related factors.

About 1 Arc Power:

At 1 Arc Power, we are on a mission to deliver simple, fast-to-deploy, customer-centric and intelligent power systems leveraging the abundance of solar to provide inexpensive and reliable clean energy to global customers from data centers to energy starved communities around the world. We envision a future where every community, business, and nation thrives on the limitless potential of clean energy, united in a shared commitment to a sustainable and equitable world.

You will be working with Dr. Tom Buttgenbach, one of the most successful clean energy technology innovators and entrepreneurs who has been a driving force in making solar-based energy solutions the cheapest and most reliable energy option. Tom founded and led Avantus (formerly known as “8minute Solar Energy“), to become one of the largest and most profitable solar and energy storage companies in the United States and the largest in California, including delivering over 17% of Los Angeles’ power.  

When Tom sold his interest in Avantus’ development business  to KKR in mid-2024, it had delivered over $1 billion in profit and secured over $10 Billion in power purchase agreements and project financings with a pipeline of over 30 GW of solar and 90 GWh of energy storage, capable of powering the homes of more than 20 million Americans day and night. 

Tom’s family office investment firm, 1st Avenue Capital, is building teams for the next generation of advanced solar power system architecture and AI to aggressively drive down the cost of and equitable access to clean and reliable energy.[1] 1st Avenue’s advanced large scale power systems are addressing the increasing inadequacy of the grid to meet the massively growing power demands of the digital economy, while its intelligent distributed solar utilities are leapfrogging the grid to provide equitable access to inexpensive, clean and reliable power to underserved communities around the world.

1AI Energy, the employing entity for 1 Arc Power, and 1 Arc Power are committed to a policy of Equal Employment Opportunity and will not discriminate against an applicant or employee based on race (inclusive of traits associated with race, including hair texture and protective hairstyles), color, religion, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding), age, veteran or military status, marital status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, reproductive decision-making, or any other legally recognized protected class under federal, state, or local law.  We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.. Applicants with disabilities may be entitled to reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), and local laws. A reasonable accommodation is a change in the way things are normally done which will ensure an equal employment opportunity without imposing undue hardship on 1AI Energy or 1st Avenue Power. Please inform the company's personnel representative if you need assistance completing an application or to otherwise participate in the application process. 

Join our team and make a real difference in the world.

[1: Additionally, 1AP is in the business of acquiring projects where there has been a final notice-to-proceed or financial close.]  

California Pay Range 175000 - 215000 USD