Tooling Engineer, Welding

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:

As a Tooling Engineer on the Welding team, you will design and build the fixtures and tooling that let us weld complex aerospace, defense, and naval parts accurately and repeatably. You will take each tool from concept and CAD through fabrication, prove-out, and daily use on the floor, working side by side with welding engineers, welders, and our automation team. The role is based at our weld development facility in Los Angeles and covers both manual welding and robotic weld cells.

What You’ll Do

• Design weld fixtures and tooling, including locating and clamping fixtures, positioner tooling, and purge, backing, and chill tooling, from concept through detailed drawings.

• Validate tooling designs with FEA and hand calculations for load, stiffness, and thermal effects during welding.

• Manage tool fabrication with internal shops and outside vendors, then prove out, verify, and release each tool to production.

• Work with welding engineers and welders on the floor to control distortion, improve fit-up, and make tools easy and safe to use.

• Design and adapt tooling for robotic welding cells and positioners to support our move toward weld automation.

What We’re Looking For

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, or Welding Engineering, or equivalent hands-on experience, with 4+ years designing tooling in a manufacturing environment.

• Experience designing weld fixtures or tooling, or a combined background in both welding and tooling design.

• Track record of taking tools from CAD into production and supporting them through prove-out and continuous improvement.

• Proficiency in 3D CAD (SolidWorks, NX, or CATIA) and GD&T, plus FEA or static analysis to validate tooling under real-world conditions.

• Working knowledge of welding processes, weld distortion, and material selection for tooling exposed to high heat and high loads.

What Will Set You Apart

• Experience building tooling for robotic or automated weld cells, including positioners, sensors, and pneumatic clamping.

• Background with large or complex welded structures in aerospace, defense, or shipbuilding.

• Experience with modular or reconfigurable fixturing systems that support multiple part variants.

• Hands-on welding or machining skills.

• Familiarity with AS9100, NAVSEA, or AWS requirements and tool verification methods such as CMM or laser tracker inspection.
  
  Compensation

For this role, the target salary range is $115,000 - $170,000 (actual range may vary based on experience).

This is the lowest to highest salary we reasonably and in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range, and the range may be modified in the future. An employee's pay position within the salary range will be based on several factors, including, but not limited to, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, performance, and business or organizational needs.

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.