Senior Manager, Manufacturing Engineering

Job Purpose

The Senior Manager, Manufacturing Engineering owns the manufacturing engineering function across Hyliion's Cedar Park, TX headquarters and primary production site and its Milford, OH R&D operations. The role is the bridge between the engineering design of the KARNO Power Module and the scalable, repeatable production system required for commercial ramp, defining and driving the processes, tooling, documentation, and infrastructure that transform KARNO from a highly engineered prototype into a manufacturable product. This is a player-coach role: the incumbent builds and leads a team of manufacturing engineers while remaining personally hands-on in the most challenging production problems.

AI at Hyliion

At Hyliion, AI is core to how we work. We equip every team member with leading AI tools and count on you to use them — to move faster, solve harder problems, and help us realize the full potential of KARNO technology for the world.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Productionization: translate engineering designs into manufacturable, repeatable, and scalable production configurations across both sites, aligned to the commercial ramp roadmap.
• Tooling and process development: design, develop, and qualify manufacturing tooling, fixtures, and processes that support quality, efficiency, and volume scalability.
• Manufacturing documentation: own PFMEAs, control plans, work instructions, SOPs, and MBOMs, keeping them accurate, current, and accessible to the production floor.
• Lean and material flow: define and implement standard work, material flow, and handling strategies that increase throughput, reduce waste, and prepare the factory for increasing volume.
• Process validation and control: drive capability studies, establish measurement systems and process controls, and hold consistent product quality from first article through production.
• Design for manufacturability: partner with Design Engineering to embed DFM into the product lifecycle as an ongoing discipline rather than a late-stage review.
• Team building: build, mentor, and lead a team of manufacturing engineers, developing the bench, the skills matrix, and the accountability that goes with them.
• Cross-functional execution: drive production-readiness milestones with Product Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, and external partners.
• Manufacturing equipment capital program: own the program end to end, including needs identification, business case and justification, vendor selection, procurement support, installation, and IQ/OQ/PQ qualification, against the commercial scaling roadmap and an annual capital budget.
• Root cause and CAPA: partner with Operations and Quality on rigorous root cause analysis for nonconformances and own corrective and preventive action to closure where accountable.
• Continuous improvement: manage the continuous improvement intake process and build a culture of operational excellence, safety, and disciplined engineering practice.
• Additional duties and responsibilities as assigned, needed, or required for the business.

Qualifications

Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Qualifications include:

• Education, Experience and Certifications
  • B.S. or higher in Mechanical, Manufacturing, or Industrial Engineering, or equivalent experience.
  • 10+ years of core manufacturing engineering experience with demonstrated progression of scope and responsibility.
  • 3+ years of direct people management leading a team of engineers in a manufacturing or production environment.
  • Demonstrated track record productionizing engineering designs, turning prototype-stage products into manufacturable, scalable systems.
  • Preferred: AS9100, ISO 9001, or equivalent QMS experience; background in power generation, electromechanical systems, or precision energy equipment manufacturing; additive manufacturing / laser sintering environments; and government or defense manufacturing contract support.
• Skills and Abilities
  • Proven expertise in process engineering: process design, validation, capability studies, and statistical process control.
  • Deep hands-on experience developing PFMEAs, control plans, work instructions, and SOPs from scratch.
  • Strong proficiency in MBOM development and management, with working knowledge of CAD/PLM environments; NX (Siemens), Teamcenter, or equivalent preferred.
  • Experience designing and qualifying production tooling and fixtures for complex electromechanical assemblies.
  • Solid grounding in lean manufacturing: value stream mapping, 5S, standard work, Kaizen, and waste reduction.
  • Experience with material flow design and handling systems in a production environment.
  • Track record owning capital equipment decisions, including business case, vendor selection and qualification, and delivering installed, validated equipment on budget.
  • Comfort operating as a player-coach, personally solving hard technical problems while leading and developing a team.
  • Effective in a startup or scaling environment where processes are built from the ground up, with a high tolerance for ambiguity.
  • Willingness and ability to travel approximately one week per month to Milford, OH.

Role Classification and Working Conditions

This is a salaried, exempt-level position. This position typically works in a production/assembly/engineering lab environment.

Physical/Other Requirements

• Ability to stand and walk for extended periods in a manufacturing, additive production, and test environment.
• Ability to access equipment in confined or elevated positions.
• Ability to lift and/or move up to 40 pounds, with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Compliance with all site PPE and safety requirements is mandatory.
• Ability to travel, as needed, by plane, automobile, etc.; approximately one week per month to the Milford, OH site.

Direct Reports

This position has or will have direct reports.