As a Principal Manufacturing Development Engineer, you will be responsible for developing automated equipment and manufacturing processes that enable reliable, repeatable production at increasing volumes. You will take ownership of automated manufacturing projects from concept through deployment, working closely with mechanical, electrical, controls, manufacturing, quality, facilities, and systems engineering partners. This role requires a hands-on engineer who is comfortable moving between design, prototyping, implementation, and troubleshooting in a fast-moving development environment.
This position offers the opportunity to significantly influence manufacturing capability, throughput, and system reliability across multiple hardware platforms critical to fusion energy development.
Responsibilities
Develop Advanced Automated Manufacturing Equipment: Lead the design and implementation of automated manufacturing systems incorporating industrial robotics, motion systems, sensing, and vision technologies. Define system architectures that prioritize reliability, scalability, and maintainability.
Controls and System Integration: Support controls engineers, who will develop and integrate electrical and controls systems using industrial PLCs, standard communication protocols, and HMI platforms. Support data acquisition and performance monitoring to evaluate and improve system behavior. Work with controls engineers to integrate industrial robotic systems to improve consistency, precision, and production efficiency within automated manufacturing cells.
Mechanical Design and DFM Support: Design mechanical components and assemblies using 3D CAD and GD&T principles. Generate detailed fabrication drawings and provide design-for-manufacturing feedback to improve automation performance and robustness.
Risk and Failure Analysis: Conduct product and process failure analyses, including DFMEA and PFMEA, to identify risks, implement mitigations, and support high system uptime.
Project and Program Ownership: Plan and execute multiple projects simultaneously by setting milestones, tracking progress, managing risks, and coordinating cross-functional resources. Support the development of internal processes that enable predictable delivery.
Manufacturing Process Optimization: Evaluate and improve automated manufacturing workflows by analyzing cycle times, material flow, automation ROI, and work-in-process buffering to support consistent production output.
Technical Documentation and Handover: Create comprehensive documentation including electrical and pneumatic schematics, bills of materials, maintenance documentation, spare parts lists, and troubleshooting guides to support long-term operation.
Safety and Regulatory Compliance: Collaborate with EHS stakeholders to perform risk assessments, define personal safety requirements, and integrate appropriate guarding.
Supplier and Integrator Management: Work with procurement and external vendors to develop RFQs, define technical specifications, manage build and installation phases, and lead factory and site acceptance testing for robots, cobots, palletizers, and other actuated parts of the production line. Support and coordinate with controls engineers who will own controls hardware definition and procurement.
Qualifications
- Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics Engineering, or equivalent practical experience
- Experience: 7+ years of experience in production line development
- Demonstrated experience integrating industrial robotic systems
- Strong mechanical design capability using SolidWorks, including GD&T and drawing release for automated equipment
- Experience delivering manufacturing robotics or capital equipment projects from concept through commissioning, with proficiency using tools such as Jira or equivalent project tracking systems
- Background in manufacturing optimization using Lean principles, Six Sigma tools, and structured problem-solving methodologies
- Experience integrating machine vision systems, sensors, and closed-loop feedback for precision automation
- Clear written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to develop technical specifications and collaborate effectively across disciplines
- Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee of granted asylum
Skills Required
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Robotics Engineering, or equivalent practical experience
- 7+ years of experience in production line development
- Demonstrated experience integrating industrial robotic systems
- Strong mechanical design capability using SolidWorks, including GD&T and drawing release for automated equipment
- Experience delivering manufacturing robotics or capital equipment projects from concept through commissioning; proficiency with Jira or equivalent
- Background in manufacturing optimization using Lean principles, Six Sigma tools, and structured problem-solving methodologies
- Experience integrating machine vision systems, sensors, and closed-loop feedback for precision automation
- Ability to create technical documentation including electrical and pneumatic schematics, BOMs, maintenance and troubleshooting guides
- Must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. permanent resident (Green Card), or lawfully admitted as a refugee or granted asylum
What We Do
Xcimer Energy is an inertial fusion company developing scalable, laser-driven fusion power systems to provide abundant, clean, and carbon-free energy. By utilizing novel excimer laser architecture to dramatically reduce costs, the company aims to commercialize laser inertial confinement fusion and deploy the world's first commercial laser fusion power plants to meet global decarbonization goals.
