Head of Software Engineering

Key Responsibilities

• Team Leadership & Management: Lead, mentor, and grow a diverse team of software engineers, providing hands-on technical leadership while also acting as a people manager. You will drive team productivity and foster a culture of high performance, accountability, and continuous improvement. 
• End-to-End Ownership: Own the complete software experience, from customer-facing applications to internal tools for factory technicians and process engineers. Ensure high-quality software is delivered across web apps, command-line tools, and applications running on robotic systems.
• Manufacturing & Hardware Focus: Experience in environments where software development directly interfaces with hardware and physical systems, such as robotics, machine learning, or advanced manufacturing. An understanding of the challenges and requirements in a manufacturing setting is a key asset. 
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with roboticists, mechanical engineers, material scientists, and other key stakeholders to build and deliver integrated solutions that solve complex challenges in manufacturing. 
• Agile Development: In an early-stage startup environment, you will be expected to work iteratively, demo regularly, and adapt quickly. Be comfortable managing and delivering on tight timelines while ensuring software quality and customer satisfaction. 
• Continuous Improvement: Develop and refine software infrastructure, team processes, and company culture to enable rapid iteration and high-velocity feature releases. Balance short- and long-term roadmap goals, addressing both customer-facing features and technical debt. 
• Hands-On Contribution: Act as both a leader and an active contributor to the engineering team, ensuring that the software development process is hands-on, collaborative, and aligned with company goals. 

Key Requirements

• Experience: At least 4 years of experience in software engineering management, ideally in a fast-growing, technically complex environment
• Technical Expertise: Proven experience in full-stack software development, with a solid understanding of software architecture, design patterns, and systems thinking.
• Leadership: Strong leadership skills with the ability to mentor and inspire engineers, foster team collaboration, and effectively communicate complex technical concepts. Experience building and leading engineering teams to success in a fast-paced, agile environment. 
• Agility & Adaptability: Comfortable with a fast-paced, constantly changing environment. You should be adaptable, thrive in ambiguity, and be able to iterate and ship software rapidly while maintaining quality. 
• Security & Best Practices: Strong knowledge of engineering best practices, including code reviews, testing, and deployment strategies. Experience in environments with high security and compliance demands is a plus. 
• Developer Tools & Productivity: Advocate for a strong developer experience, helping to choose the right tools, maintain healthy repositories, and establish efficient team habits and infrastructure. 
• Communication & Decision Making: Ability to clearly articulate tradeoffs, prioritize features based on business value, and make data-driven decisions. Strong communication skills to interact effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders. 
• Hands-On Technical Expertise: Be willing and able to actively contribute to the codebase and provide technical direction. This includes a strong foundation in algorithms, data structures, and problem-solving in your domain, with the ability to quickly learn Machina-specific topics like 3D geometry manipulation. 
• Onsite Presence:
• Required to be onsite 5 days a week in Chatsworth, CA, working alongside the team and directly engaging with the manufacturing process. 

Preferred Experience

• Experience with robotic systems, 3D printing, or advanced manufacturing technologies. 
• Knowledge of machine learning, AI, or deep tech applications in industrial contexts. 
• Familiarity with Agile development methodologies and tools like Jira, GitHub, or GitLab.