Manufacturing Research Engineer

As a Manufacturing Engineer in Reality Labs Research, you will develop novel manufacturing processes — spanning research-stage components and materials through complex, fully integrated devices — and advance them from early feasibility and proof-of-concept through process qualification and pilot production, delivering reliable, high-performing hardware prototypes. The development of state-of-the-art prototypes will require the intersection of novel materials, manufacturing processes, mechanical, electrical, and software fields. You will bring experience with a wide variety of manufacturing processes and demonstrated experience of leading cross-functional engineering efforts to rapidly develop and scale technologies from low to high volumes. More broadly, you will work with a diverse and highly interdisciplinary team of researchers and engineers and will have access to cutting edge technology, resources, and testing facilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead manufacturing development activities across cross-functional teams to deliver reliable, high-performing hardware prototypes
• Provide design-for-manufacturability, assembly, and test feedback to research scientists and engineers to improve the manufacturing feasibility of novel technologies
• Set manufacturing technical direction across multiple concurrent research programs, defining and executing the process maturation path that scales state-of-the-art components and prototypes from early feasibility to pilot-production volumes
• Grow in-house manufacturing capabilities and manage external manufacturing partnerships
• Raise the bar for manufacturing excellence and best practices by developing, and continuously improving, processes and relationships which empower researchers and design engineers to build increasingly complex systems

Minimum qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Process Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, other relevant field, or equivalent experience
• 8+ years of experience scaling hardware technologies from early-stage feasibility to pilot-production or mass manufacture
• Experience developing high-volume consumer products with stringent size, weight, power, and cost constraints in wearables, robotics, or similar
• Experience designing and implementing process development plans, design of experiments (DOE), critical process parameters, and quality control strategies
• Experience defining hardware build and supply chain plans, and managing external manufacturing vendors to meet program schedule and quality requirements Experience with any combination of manufacturing techniques, such as electro-mechanical integration, coatings, laminating, active optical alignment, molding, machining, additive manufacturing, and adhesive bonding
• Demonstrated ongoing AI skill development (e.g., prompt/context engineering, agent orchestration) and staying current with emerging AI technologies
• Master's degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Process Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or other relevant field
• Demonstrated ability to integrate AI tools to optimize/redesign workflows and drive measurable impact (e.g., efficiency gains, quality improvements)
• Experience establishing in-house prototyping or pilot-line capability, including equipment selection, installation, process qualification, and capacity planning
• Experience developing processes for novel or unproven materials, including material characterization and process-window definition
• Experience with CAD, such as NX or related programs
• Experience adhering to and implementing responsible, ethical AI practices (e.g., risk assessment, bias mitigation, quality and accuracy reviews)

Preferred qualifications

• Experience with any combination of manufacturing techniques, such as electro-mechanical integration, coatings, laminating, active optical alignment, molding, machining, additive manufacturing, and adhesive bonding
• Demonstrated ongoing AI skill development (e.g., prompt/context engineering, agent orchestration) and staying current with emerging AI technologies
• Master's degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Process Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or other relevant field
• Demonstrated ability to integrate AI tools to optimize/redesign workflows and drive measurable impact (e.g., efficiency gains, quality improvements)
• Experience establishing in-house prototyping or pilot-line capability, including equipment selection, installation, process qualification, and capacity planning
• Experience developing processes for novel or unproven materials, including material characterization and process-window definition
• Experience with CAD, such as NX or related programs
• Experience adhering to and implementing responsible, ethical AI practices (e.g., risk assessment, bias mitigation, quality and accuracy reviews)