Head of Manufacturing Engineering Automation & Controls

Skydio
California
Workplace: OnsiteFull timeUSD 196,000 - 257,000 annuallyFunction: Manufacturing & Production OperationsExperience: 12+ yearsEducation: bachelorsSkills: ["Leadership","Analytical problem-solving","Cross-functional collaboration","Strategic planning","Execution"]

Lead Skydio’s Manufacturing Engineering organization to scale high-volume production of small unmanned aircraft. Own the manufacturing engineering strategy and roadmap, translating product designs into reliable, automated, production-ready systems. Drive factory automation, controls engineering, equipment development, process qualification, and production readiness standards. Partner across design, operations, quality, supply chain, and test to ensure manufacturability and leverage manufacturing data via MES/traceability to improve yield and root-cause analysis.

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Skydio
Skydio
1 day ago

Head of Manufacturing Engineering Automation & Controls

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Job Summary

Lead Skydio’s Manufacturing Engineering organization to scale high-volume production of small unmanned aircraft. Own the manufacturing engineering strategy and roadmap, translating product designs into reliable, automated, production-ready systems. Drive factory automation, controls engineering, equipment development, process qualification, and production readiness standards. Partner across design, operations, quality, supply chain, and test to ensure manufacturability and leverage manufacturing data via MES/traceability to improve yield and root-cause analysis.
Location: California
Workplace: Onsite
Employment Type: Full time
Job Function: Manufacturing & Production Operations
Seniority: Sr. Director level

Key Responsibilities

  • •Build, lead, and develop a Manufacturing Engineering organization supporting production from new product introduction through high-volume manufacturing.
  • •Define manufacturing engineering strategy, technical roadmap, organizational structure, and capabilities for production growth.
  • •Establish manufacturing standards, design reviews, equipment specifications, process qualification methodologies, and production-readiness criteria.
  • •Lead the architecture, development, deployment, and lifecycle management of automated manufacturing equipment and production systems.
  • •Partner with software/data teams to connect manufacturing equipment with MES, traceability, quality, and factory data systems to improve yield and root-cause analysis.

Pay and Benefits

Salary: USD 196,000 - 257,000 annually
Equity and Bonus:Equity
Perks:Health Insurance401kPaid LeaveHoliday Pay

Key Requirements

  • •12+ years of experience in manufacturing engineering, automation engineering, controls engineering, equipment engineering, or related disciplines.
  • •5+ years leading engineering organizations responsible for manufacturing systems or factory automation.
  • •Demonstrated experience scaling complex electromechanical products into high-volume production.
  • •Deep understanding of manufacturing automation and controls (e.g., PLC/industrial controls architectures, robotics, servo/motion control, machine vision, industrial networking, sensors, industrial safety).
  • •Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Mechatronics, Robotics, or a related technical field.
Experience:12+ yearsAerospaceElectromechanicalRoboticsIndustrial automationElectronicsSemiconductorIndustrial roboticsIndustry 4.0
Education:Bachelor's
Skills:LeadershipAnalytical problem-solvingCross-functional collaborationStrategic planningExecution
Tech Stack:PLCIndustrial controlsRoboticsRobotic cellsServo systemsMotion controlMachine visionIndustrial networkingSCADAHMIMESIndustry 4.0SensorsInstrumentationAutomated testMachine safetyIndustrial roboticsTraceabilityProduction dataProcess validation

Company Brief

Skydio
Designs and manufactures autonomous consumer and enterprise drones using AI-powered vision and navigation systems for inspection, mapping, public safety, and industrial applications. Focuses on rugged, fully autonomous flight and end-to-end drone solutions.
Industry: Drones & Aerial Logistics
Company Size: Large (251 to 1,000 employees)
Growth: Scaleup
Valuation: Unicorn (USD 1B+)
Funding: Series D
Headquarters: San Mateo, United States
Founded: 2014
WebsiteLinkedIn