Director, Machine Shop

15+ years in machining, prototype manufacturing, or advanced hardware operations, including 5+ years leading teams or managers in a technical shop environment.

Demonstrated experience scaling a prototype shop, production-adjacent manufacturing function, or technical operations group through systems, staffing, and capital planning.

Technical credibility across CNC machining, CAM, tooling, DFM, GD&T, metrology, fabrication, post-processing, and maintenance programs.

Experience owning operating metrics, budgets, equipment procurement, vendor strategy, and cross-functional execution with Engineering, Supply Chain, Finance, Facilities, and Safety.

Ability to communicate from shop floor detail to executive-level strategy, including written business cases and operational reviews.

Proven experience operating or scaling a high-quality prototype shop or advanced R&D manufacturing environment, not only a transactional job shop.

$150,000

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$225,000 USD

The Director, Machine Shop is accountable for building, scaling, and continuously improving Atomic Machines' prototype machining capability as a strategic engineering asset.

This role owns the shop operating model, leadership structure, safety and compliance system, capacity planning, capital roadmap, vendor strategy, and cross-site coordination required to support rapid hardware iteration.

The Director should be technically credible with machining, CAM, DFM, metrology, and fabrication processes, but the primary expectation is organizational leadership, systems design, budget ownership, and executive-level communication - not default hands-on machining.

Lead the Emeryville Machine Shop

● Own day-to-day shop operations, priorities, staffing, and execution.

● Build, manage, and develop a strong team of machinists and shop personnel.