Neros is a defense technology company rebuilding America's drone industrial base. As a Manufacturing Engineer, you will own how drones are actually made, deciding how each assembly is built, including fixtures, joints, torque specs, and tests. This is a floor-first role where you'll spend your days next to the production line, troubleshooting line-down events, root-causing defects, and pushing manufacturability back into design. You'll be the first point of contact for engineering decisions on hardware and the last line of defense between a bad process and a thousand bad units.

Responsibilities

First technical responder for line-down and slowdown events; diagnose, contain, restore
Troubleshoot tooling, fixtures, jigs, and station equipment issues
Distinguish process problems from training problems from design problems, and drive fixes accordingly
Support production supervisors with real-time technical calls during the shift
Own work instructions and standard work for assigned stations; keep them accurate and current
Drive cycle time reduction, line balancing, and station-level improvements with production
Design, build, and iterate fixtures and tooling to improve repeatability and speed
Validate and release process changes through proper change control (ECR/ECO)
Qualify new and changed processes against clear acceptance criteria: first article, capability studies
Lead root cause analysis on recurring defects and escapes; drive corrective actions to verified closure
Partner with quality on FPY improvement, defect containment, and disposition
Translate failure data into process or tooling fixes, not just retraining
Support NPI builds: process planning, station setup, first article support
Feed producibility and DFM input back to design engineering before release
Define and own station-level KPIs (yield, cycle time, downtime, scrap); use them to prioritize and drive measurable improvement

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Industrial, or a related engineering field
2+ years as a manufacturing, process, or industrial engineer in a hardware production environment
Hands-on line support experience; comfortable being the first call when things break
Proven root cause skills with examples of corrective actions driven to verified closure
Strong floor presence; communicates clearly with technicians, executives, and product engineers

Nice to have

Fixture and tooling design experience, with CAD proficiency (SolidWorks or similar)
Electronics or electromechanical assembly experience
Experience taking a product from NPI through DVT/PVT into sustained production
High-mix, high-cadence manufacturing where the design changes regularly
Familiarity with factory automation, machine vision, robotics, or custom equipment
Working knowledge of lean fundamentals: cycle & takt time, line balancing, 5S
Experience creating and maintaining work orders, process plans, and mBOMs in MES/ERP
Understanding of how to create a PFMEA and turn it into a quality verification plan
Startup or high-growth background; experience scaling output or standing up new lines

Benefits

The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations. Highly competitive equity grants are considered part of Neros' total compensation package.