Full-Time

Welding Manufacturing Engineer

Machina Labs

Machina Labs

51-200 employees

AI-enabled robotic manufacturing for rapid production

Compensation Overview

$120k - $155k/yr

No H1B Sponsorship

Chatsworth, Los Angeles, CA, USA

In Person

Bachelor's

Category
Manufacturing & Process Engineering
Required Skills
Welding
CAD
ERP
Six Sigma
PTC Creo
GD&T
ISO 9001
SolidWorks

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Requirements
  • A bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Welding Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or another related engineering discipline.
  • At least 3 years of manufacturing or welding engineering experience supporting production environments.
  • Experience developing manufacturing processes using sound engineering principles.
  • Strong knowledge of AWS D17.1 or comparable welding specifications and engineering standards.
  • Experience designing weld tooling, fixtures, and manufacturing equipment.
  • Proficiency with computer-aided design software such as SolidWorks, Creo, Siemens NX, CATIA, or similar engineering design platforms.
  • Experience creating engineering documentation, manufacturing specifications, and technical work instructions.
  • Ability to perform engineering analysis and independently solve complex manufacturing problems.
  • Ability to present technical recommendations to cross-functional teams.
  • The ability to work directly with manufacturing equipment and production hardware.
  • The ability to use common engineering inspection equipment, including calipers, micrometers, height gauges, and other precision measurement tools.
  • The ability to stand, walk, bend, reach, and occasionally lift up to 40 pounds.
Responsibilities
  • Design, develop, and optimize welding processes, tooling, fixtures, and manufacturing methods for prototype and production environments.
  • Apply engineering principles to evaluate manufacturability, welding performance, structural integrity, quality, cost, and production efficiency.
  • Develop, validate, and implement welding processes for complex metallic assemblies, including structural and production hardware.
  • Perform engineering analysis to identify manufacturing risks and develop technical solutions that improve product quality, repeatability, and throughput.
  • Lead the design and qualification of weld tooling, fixtures, and production equipment to support manufacturing scalability.
  • Develop engineering specifications, process documentation, work instructions, and manufacturing standards that support consistent production.
  • Create and maintain welding procedures and engineering documentation in support of quality management systems and AS9100 certification requirements.
  • Analyze production data, process capability, and manufacturing metrics to drive continuous improvement initiatives.
  • Conduct root cause investigations of manufacturing and weld quality issues and implement corrective and preventive engineering solutions.
  • Collaborate with Product Design Engineering to provide Design for Manufacturability recommendations during product development.
  • Evaluate and recommend new manufacturing technologies, welding equipment, automation, and capital improvements.
  • Participate in engineering design reviews, manufacturing readiness reviews, and production planning activities.
  • Support qualification testing, process validation, first article inspections, and engineering change implementation.
  • Review engineering drawings, models, specifications, and technical documentation to ensure manufacturability and compliance with engineering standards.
  • Provide technical leadership and engineering guidance to manufacturing, production, and quality teams regarding welding processes and best practices.
  • Exercise independent engineering judgment in selecting manufacturing methods, resolving technical issues, and recommending process improvements.
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience supporting aerospace, defense, robotics, or advanced manufacturing environments.
  • Experience with robotic welding, laser welding, automated welding systems, and advanced joining technologies.
  • Experience with structural weldments, pressure vessels, tanks, or large fabricated assemblies.
  • Experience supporting AS9100, ISO 9001, or similar quality management systems.
  • Working knowledge of Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing and Design for Manufacturability.
  • Experience with Process Failure Mode and Effects Analysis, process validation, statistical process control, and root cause analysis.
  • Experience with Enterprise Resource Planning or Material Requirements Planning systems and engineering change management.
  • Knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Kaizen, and Value Stream Mapping.

Machina Labs develops integrated manufacturing systems that combine robotics and AI to speed up design, prototyping, and production. Their systems automate the shaping, assembly, and testing of sheet metal and other parts using AI-driven optimization and digital tooling. These capabilities are tailored for aerospace, defense, OEMs, heavy equipment, energy, marine, construction, and consumer products, with a focus on large-format parts and fast, end-to-end fabrication for government and industrial customers. The goal is to shorten design-to-production cycles while improving quality and reliability for next-generation equipment.

Company Size

51-200

Company Stage

Series C

Total Funding

$172.3M

Headquarters

Los Angeles, California

Founded

2019

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Machina closed a $124 million Series C on February 4, 2026.
  • Woven Capital, Lockheed Martin Ventures, and SDF back the factory buildout.
  • Toyota partnership work, updated August 2026, widens commercial demand beyond defense.

What critics are saying

  • If JASSM qualification stalls, Machina's defense thesis collapses.
  • Factory 3 remains under development, so 2026 revenue depends on unproven scale-up.
  • Machina said 70% of revenue came from defense in 2026, creating concentration risk.

What makes Machina Labs unique

  • RoboCraftsman replaces dies with robotic sheet-forming, cutting tooling from millions to software.
  • Lockheed Martin qualified Machina-built JASSM parts on July 15, 2026.
  • Factory 3 targets 200,000 square feet and 50 cells for missile production.

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Benefits

Flexible Work Hours

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

-3%

1 year growth

-7%

2 year growth

-5%
SpaceNews
Aug 12th, 2026
Pentagon missile buildup changing the factory floor.

Pentagon missile buildup changing the factory floor. Startups are bringing software, robotics and manufacturing methods developed around commercial space into a defense industry under pressure to produce weapons faster HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - The Pentagon's push to replenish missile inventories is creating an opening for a new class of manufacturers that say the problem isn't simply a shortage of factory space. It is how those factories are built. Startups such as Machina, Hadrian and Freeform are applying software, robotics and highly automated production techniques to aerospace and defense manufacturing, challenging a model that has long relied on dedicated machinery, specialized tooling and skilled labor to make relatively small numbers of complex parts. Some of the new manufacturing technology grew out of the commercial space industry. At this year's Space and Missile Defense Symposium, Los Angeles-based Machina is displaying a 16-foot fuselage for a hypersonic vehicle that it manufactured for Ursa Major, a company that is expanding from rocket propulsion into complete hypersonic missile systems. Machina co-founder and chief executive Edward Mehr, who previously worked at SpaceX and Relativity Space, says the hardware is an example of how AI can be applied not to designing weapons, but to controlling the machines that manufacture them. "Missile programs are not constrained by design. They are constrained by production," Mehr told SpaceNews. Machina recently received a qualification contract from Lockheed Martin supporting the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, or JASSM, a long-range cruise missile built for the Air Force. The agreement is significant for Machina because it puts an assembly made with the company's manufacturing process through qualification for an operational missile program. Lockheed is also an investor in Machina through Lockheed Martin Ventures. Mehr said manufacturing fuselage structures for hypersonic missiles has become "a big area of growth for us." Machina's manufacturing platform, called RoboCraftsman, uses robotic arms to progressively shape sheets of metal into aerospace structures. The company uses artificial intelligence to give robotic equipment more autonomy over how it performs a physical task. "Our use of AI and robotics allows us to build flexible manufacturing systems that can switch between processes and geometries while reducing the need for dedicated tooling," Mehr said. Mehr said traditional programs can require tens of millions of dollars in dedicated equipment and long setup periods before the first production hardware is available for testing. Machina's argument is that a programmable factory can compress that transition because much of the change resides in software rather than in a new set of dies and machinery. Equipment previously producing automotive hardware, for example, could be reprogrammed to begin making a missile structure after receiving the digital design, he said. "Under the traditional model, a significant design change or a new missile component can require another investment in tooling, equipment and production setup," Mehr said. "With our system, much of that change can happen through software rather than by building another dedicated manufacturing line." Machina is looking to demonstrate that its approach can consistently meet the tolerances, quality requirements and production rates demanded by major weapons programs. The company is preparing to scale. Machina raised $124 million earlier this year to help finance a new 200,000-square-foot U.S. factory intended to move the technology from lower-volume work into larger production runs. Its customers also include NASA and Toyota.

Business Wire
Feb 5th, 2026
Machina Labs Raises $124 Million to Scale Manufacturing Infrastructure for Defense and Advanced Mobility

Machina Labs, a leader in advanced manufacturing and robotics, today announced it has closed a Series C financing totaling $124 million and the development o...

Tech in Asia
Feb 4th, 2026
US robotics startup raises $124M to build AI-driven missile factory

Machina Labs, a Los Angeles-based robotics startup, has raised $124 million to build a large-scale robotic manufacturing facility. The company plans to construct an "Intelligent Factory" spanning over 18,580 square metres, focused on mass-producing missile structures and airframes. The facility, significantly larger than Machina's current sites, will be located in New Mexico, Texas, Alabama or Nevada. Investors include Lockheed Martin Ventures, Balerion Space Ventures, Woven Capital and Abu Dhabi-based EDGE Group's Strategic Development Fund. Machina's "RoboCraftsman" cells use AI-guided robotics to shape metal parts directly from CAD files, eliminating the need for custom dies that cost up to $1 million each with 50-week lead times. The company currently generates 70% of revenue from defence contracts and 30% from commercial clients.

Mid-East Info
Dec 11th, 2025
Strategic Development Fund Announces Investment and Initial Agreement with Machina Labs - Middle East Business News and Information - mid-east.info

Abu Dhabi, UAE – December, 2025 – Strategic Development Fund (SDF), an Abu Dhabi-based investment entity wholly owned by EDGE Group, today announced the signing of an initial partnership and …

Thomasnet
Oct 6th, 2025
Toyota, Machina Labs Partnership Offers On-Demand Customization for Vehicles

Toyota, Machina Labs partnership offers on-demand customization for vehicles. Toyota Motor North America has partnered with Los Angeles - based Machina Labs to test new ways of manufacturing custom vehicle parts, including body panels and accessories, using artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics at automotive-grade quality. AI-Driven manufacturing for custom parts. Machina Labs is piloting its RoboForming technology with Toyota. The system, part of Machina's RoboCraftsman platform, uses robotic arms and AI to shape sheet metal without the need for dedicated molds or tooling. This allows automakers to produce unique parts in smaller volumes while maintaining the speed and precision of traditional mass production. Toyota and Woven Capital's role. The project was unveiled at the UP.Summit 2025 technology conference, where Machina and Toyota demonstrated a custom tailgate made using the process. Zach Choate, the General Manager of Production Engineering at Toyota Motor North America, said the work is in line with Toyota's goal of offering more personalized options to customers. Toyota's venture arm, Woven Capital, has backed the collaboration with an investment, noting that AI-powered manufacturing enables engineers to design and produce parts faster and at lower cost while easing supply chain pressures. The overall goal is to make vehicle customization more affordable and scalable within existing production systems. Toward flexible, on-demand production. Machina's technology also supports near-line manufacturing, allowing parts to be produced on demand from cells positioned close to assembly lines. The company said this setup makes it possible to handle low-volume, customized production without interrupting factory operations. The approach also addresses a growing market for automotive customization and accessories - valued at about $2.4 billion in 2024 for trucks alone - by reducing tooling costs, storage needs, and changeover times. Image credit: Machina Labs