Manufacturing Engineer - Vacuum, Precision & Automation Systems

About fab2

The fab2 team can build anything. We design all the hardware and software needed to make chips and we make the fabs, tools, and components ourselves.

We're looking for exceptional, hands-on people who can iterate to the limits of what's possible.

fab2 was founded by Sam Zeloof and Jim Keller. Sam is best known for making chips in his garage, and Jim has been a leader in the semiconductor industry for the past 40 years.

About the team

The fab2 production team manufactures chip fabs. From deposition and etching tools to lithography and metrology, we are building every tool ourselves. We fabricate the metal parts, operate SMT lines to build PCBAs, and assemble the tools in-house. As a Manufacturing Engineer you sit at the center of that effort — the bridge between the engineers designing our tools and the shop floor that builds them.

About the Role
At fab2 we design and build everything ourselves, from chambers, gas lines, and valves to etch, deposition, and lithography tools to complete fabs. As a Manufacturing Engineer, you own how our hardware gets made — from the first design review through mature, repeatable production.

You will partner with design engineers from day one of a new tool, bringing a manufacturing mind to the design: reducing part count and complexity, driving down cycle time and cost, and improving manufacturability all while protecting design intent. When the design releases, you already know how it will be built, because you helped shape it. You then own the NPI process: developing the manufacturing and assembly process, standing up the first builds, designing the fixtures and jigs that make assembly faster, more repeatable, or possible at all, and maturing it into production. From there you own that process; tracking quality issues, chronic failures, unachievable tolerances, and anything else that surfaces during builds, and continuously making it better, faster, and more manufacturable.

Our tools are precision, high-vacuum, and increasingly automated systems, fabricated largely in-house. You'll work across machining, sheet metal, welding, and finishing, and with vacuum and precision-motion hardware where cleanliness, tolerance, and leak integrity are non-negotiable. This is a hands-on, high-ownership role with room to take on broader projects that make the whole company more productive.

Responsibilities

• Partner with design engineers from the earliest concept stage

• Participate in design reviews and influence the design for manufacturability, assembly, cost, cycle time, and complexity while preserving design intent.

• Provide GD&T and process feedback on drawings

• Own the NPI process for new tools and components

• Stand up and lead first builds turning a released design into physical hardware

• Design and build fixtures, jigs, and tooling that make assembly and fabrication faster, more repeatable, more ergonomic, or possible in the first place.

• Own processes for the life of the product; track quality issues, recurring defects, rework, chronic breakages, and out-of-spec conditions, and continuously improve the process, the design feedback, and the tolerances.

• Develop and maintain work instructions, process documentation, travelers, and acceptance criteria that let technicians build and inspect consistently.

• Select and specify manufacturing methods, tooling, and equipment; qualify processes and drive them to capability.

• Lead root-cause investigations on build failures, leaks, and defects, and implement corrective actions that stick.

• Support inspection and acceptance of high-risk parts and assemblies; machined parts, vacuum components, sheet metal, and precision assemblies.

• Take on overarching, cross-cutting projects that raise the productivity and capability of the whole production organization.

Required Experience

• 3+ years in manufacturing, process, or NPI engineering for complex mechanical or electromechanical hardware (strong recent graduates with exceptional hands-on ability will be considered).

• Strong command of GD&T

• Broad, working knowledge of manufacturing methods; CNC machining, sheet metal (laser, press brake, forming), welding, and finishing to give real DFM/DFA feedback and develop processes across them.

• Demonstrated ability to develop a manufacturing or assembly process from a drawing/CAD model and take it from first build to repeatable production.

• Experience designing fixtures, jigs, and tooling to improve assembly or fabrication.

• Track record investigating build/quality issues and implementing effective, lasting corrective actions.

• Proficiency in CAD (SolidWorks preferred) for fixture design, DFM markups, and process work.

• Comfort working directly and daily with design engineers, technicians, machinists, and assemblers on the floor.

Nice-to-have

• Experience with vacuum systems; high/ultra-high vacuum hardware, leak testing, cleanliness and outgassing control, elastomer and metal seals.

• Experience with precision-motion systems, tight-tolerance assemblies, or cleanroom assembly.

• Experience with automation; automated assembly, machine tending, robotics, or building automated equipment.

• Semiconductor equipment, aerospace, robotics, medical device, or other complex electromechanical experience.

• Hands-on capability of your own — machining, welding, or building — not just specifying it.

• Familiarity with ERP/MES systems and structured NPI (PPAP/FAI, PFMEA, first-article and in-process inspection).

• Experience standing up manufacturing processes in a prototype or rapidly scaling production environment.

Working at fab2

We’re an early-stage hardware startup with solid funding and world-class advisors located in Austin, San Francisco and Lockhart.

Benefits: fab2 offers the following benefits, subject to applicable eligibility requirements: 

• Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance

• Generous Paid Time Off inclusive of Holidays and Sick Time

• Visa Sponsorship

• Life and Disability Insurance

• Paid Parental Leave

• 401(k) retirement plan

• Weekly Learning & Development opportunities

• Commuter Benefits including Parking and Late Night Uber rides from the office

• Lunches daily, Dinners 3x per week, Stocked Office Kitchen with Snacks and Spindrifts

We are an equal-opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability or other legally protected statuses.

Export Control Analysis: This position involves access to technology that is subject to U.S. export controls. Any job offer made will be contingent upon the applicant’s capacity to serve in compliance with U.S. export controls.

fab2, formerly known as Atomic Semi