Director, Mechanical Engineering

Hadrian is building autonomous factories to reindustrialize America. By combining AI, advanced software, robotics, and full-stack manufacturing, we help aerospace and defense companies build rockets, satellites, aircraft, ships, and other mission-critical systems up to 10x faster and at significantly lower cost.

Following our $1.37B Series D at a $7.87B valuation, Hadrian is rapidly expanding our manufacturing footprint, launching new capabilities across welding, casting, forging, electronics, additive manufacturing, and more, while scaling our Factory-as-a-Service platform to transform how critical products are built.

Backed by leading investors including JPMorgan Chase, Valor Equity Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, 137 Ventures, Lux Capital, T. Rowe Price, and Morgan Stanley, we’re building the future of American manufacturing—and looking for exceptional people to help make it happen.

If you’re ready to take on the most challenging and rewarding work of your career while helping create American manufacturing jobs for generations to come, you’re exactly who we’re looking for.

The Role

You will take hard factory automation problems from ambiguity through production, and build the mechanical engineering team that does it with you. Few hardware teams are putting AI into the manufacturing or hardware design loop. We are, and we need leaders who are expert enough to push boundaries, yet humble enough to reinvent their own workflow.

We are looking for leaders who want to build alongside their team, inventing new agentic workflows in a hybrid team of high performers to solve problems that were entirely out of reach even a year ago.

What You’ll Do

• Build, lead and grow the mechanical engineering team that designs Hadrian's automation equipment: hiring bar, leveling, mentoring and career growth.

• Deliver machines, fixtures, end-of-arm tooling and material handling from concept through build, commissioning and production run-in, and own how they perform on the floor.

• Set design standards and run design reviews covering CAD, drawings, GD&T, design for manufacture and assembly, and machine safety, so each new factory builds on the last.

• Stay hands-on: review designs, work through fixtures, mechanisms and cell layouts with your engineers, and make the hard technical calls.

• Decide what to design in house and what to buy, plan the equipment budget, and hold machine builders, vendors and integrators to the standard.

• Partner closely with controls, software, manufacturing and factory operations, and bring new tools, including AI, into how the team designs.

What We’re Looking For

• 12+ years designing automation equipment, test equipment or production machinery, including several years leading mechanical engineers.

• A proven record of delivering automation equipment from concept through commissioning on production lines that run around the clock.

• Deep, current mechanical design skills: mechanisms, fixtures, end-of-arm tooling, tolerance stacks, actuator sizing and machine safety.

• A record of growing engineers and earning the trust of the technicians and operators who build and run your designs.

• You use AI and other new tools in your own engineering workflow and push your team to try new ways of working.

What Will Set You Apart

• You grew with a startup as an early mechanical design hire for automation or test equipment and helped build the team.

• Systems integrator experience, especially in systems design or concept and quoting teams.

• You have standardized equipment across multiple factories or launched equipment for a new factory.

• Experience in high-volume manufacturing such as EV, aerospace, defense or medical devices.

Benefits for Full-time Employees

• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans for employees
  401k

• Relocation support may be provided for certain situations, based on business need.

• Flexible vacation policy

• Equity

ITAR Requirements

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident, protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

Use of AI in hiring

Hadrian uses AI-assisted tools in our recruiting and hiring processes to help our team work more efficiently. This may include tools that help organize and analyze recruiting data, as well as an AI-powered notetaker that can record and transcribe interviews and help coordinate feedback. These tools support our team and are not used to make hiring decisions. All candidate evaluations and hiring decisions are performed by humans. If an interview will be recorded, you will be notified in advance and may opt out at any time with no impact on your candidacy. Candidate data processed through these tools is subject to the same protections described in our Privacy Policy.

Consideration of Criminal History

Hadrian will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of all applicable laws. We do not ask about criminal history on our application, and we do not consider criminal history before making a conditional offer of employment.

Hadrian Is An Equal Opportunity Employer

Hadrian does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, marital status, mental status, physical disability or any other legally protected status. When necessary, the Company also makes reasonable accommodations for disabled candidates and employees, including for candidates or employees who are disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.