Starpath Robotics
Operations Engineer
About this role
Lead manufacturing operations for a high-rate space solar panel production facility in Hawthorne, CA. You'll design workflows, staffing plans, and continuous improvement processes to scale production from prototype to megafactory levels while maintaining quality and hitting rate targets.
What you'll do
- Design and own end-to-end manufacturing workflows from material receipt through assembly, test, and shipping
- Define shift structures, staffing models, and line layouts to achieve production rate and cost targets
- Build and track key factory metrics (throughput, yield, cycle time, OEE) and drive ongoing improvements
- Lead root-cause investigations on production stoppages, yield issues, and quality escapes
- Develop standard work, work instructions, and operator training programs
- Support rate ramps and new product introductions across engineering, supply chain, and manufacturing teams
What they're looking for
- Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement (kaizen, value stream mapping, 5S, SMED)
- Manufacturing and production planning systems (MES, ERP, shop-floor scheduling)
- Data analysis and metrics tracking (OEE, throughput, yield, WIP, cycle time)
- Industrial or manufacturing engineering fundamentals
- Cross-functional coordination and problem-solving
- GD&T, DFM/DFA, and manufacturing process design
- SQL or Python for operational data analysis
- Cleanroom and high-precision assembly operations
Benefits
- Competitive salary with equity package
- PTO and comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage
- Opportunity to work on space exploration and hardware manufacturing at scale
- Occasional travel opportunities
- Collaborative engineering environment in aerospace/space sector
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Starpath Robotics
Starpath Robotics develops solar power and hardware technologies for space missions to the Moon and Mars. The company is hiring Test Engineers, Mechanical Engineers (rotary actuators and structures), Manufacturing Engineers, and Electrical Engineers to design, validate, and manufacture space-qualified solar systems and electronic devices for extraterrestrial habitats.
View all jobs at Starpath RoboticsLikely interview questions
- Walk us through a time you designed or restructured a manufacturing workflow to improve rate or reduce cost—what metrics improved and how?
- Describe your experience standing up a new production line or ramping from low to high volume—what were the biggest bottlenecks and how did you solve them?