Head of Engineering - job 1 of 4
Valstad is a manufacturing technology company with a mission to rebuild America's shipbuilding capacity from the ground up. The United States has fallen from the world's leading shipbuilder to producing less than 1% of global commercial output — while demand for domestic naval and commercial vessels continues to surge.
We're closing that gap by developing autonomous robotic fabrication systems that produce precision structural ship components at unprecedented speed, quality, and scale. Our platform combines industrial robotics, machine vision, and adaptive manufacturing to do what decades of manual processes have not — deliver the throughput and consistency the industry needs to build again.
We're building the machine that builds the ships. Our engineering team owns the full system — machine design, software, controls, and machine vision — taking it from concept to commissioning on real steel in real shipyards.
This is a role for someone who has built and shipped complex hardware-software systems and wants to own the technical direction of an entire platform. You should be as comfortable making architectural decisions across disciplines as you are reviewing a drawing package or debugging a system on the shop floor.
What You'll Do
Define and own the technical vision and architecture for Valstad's robotic fabrication platform
Build, lead, and mentor a cross-disciplinary engineering team spanning machine design, software, controls, and robotics
Make the hard tradeoffs across mechanical, electrical, and software domains that determine whether systems integrate cleanly and ship on time
Drive engineering rigor — design reviews, test protocols, documentation standards — without killing velocity
Work hands-on with the team through prototyping, integration, commissioning, and field deployment
Establish technical partnerships with robot OEMs, component vendors, and technology providers
What You'll Bring
10+ years of experience in engineering, with 5+ years leading cross-disciplinary technical teams
Track record building and shipping complex electromechanical or robotic systems into production environments
Deep expertise in at least one core domain (machine design, controls, robotics, or software) with strong fluency across the others
Ability to set a high technical bar while maintaining pace — you know when to optimize and when to ship
Hands-on instinct — you should want to be in the lab and on the floor, not just in meetings
BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, CS, or related field
Experience in industrial automation, heavy manufacturing, or defense is a strong plus
Average salary estimate
If an employer mentions a salary or salary range on their job, we display it as an "Employer Estimate". If a job has no salary data, Rise displays an estimate if available.
Turquoise Health is hiring a fast-moving Senior Brand Designer to advance brand systems and craft bold, data-informed creatives that help make healthcare pricing clear and accessible.
Lead go-to-market strategy and feature launches for Mirage’s consumer mobile app, driving acquisition, engagement, and retention for an AI-first video editing product.
Applied Materials is hiring a Process Engineer IV to lead complex process development, hardware characterization, and troubleshooting for semiconductor and display products in Santa Clara.
CRB is hiring an Electrical Engineer II to design and document electrical systems for life sciences facilities, working with BIM/CAD tools and supporting projects from concept through construction.
Support and maintain Intuitive’s surgical systems in the Dallas area by performing installation, diagnostics, repairs, and customer training on a weekend-focused field service shift.
AECOM is hiring a Hydromechanical Engineer to design and deliver large-scale mechanical systems for water infrastructure projects across the United States.
Lead ODOT’s Bridge Preservation Unit to develop policy, direct statewide preservation programs, and manage staff and resources to keep Oregon’s bridges safe and functional.
Tooling Engineer II to own design and fabrication of assembly, transport, inspection, and TPS tooling for flight hardware at a fast-paced Playa Vista aerospace startup.
Lead verification efforts for ARM-based CPU, GPU and debug IP blocks in a remote contract role, owning verification plans, UVM environments, testcases and coverage to ensure high-quality SoC designs.
Experienced mechanical design engineer needed to lead development and validation of small mechanisms and disposable instrument components for Intuitive's minimally invasive surgical systems.
CRB is hiring a Mechanical Engineer IV (PE) to lead HVAC and mechanical utilities design and construction support for advanced life sciences and food & beverage projects.
Felsburg Holt & Ullevig is hiring an entry-level Water Resources Engineer to support hydrology, hydraulics, stormwater quality, and floodplain projects from the Denver South or Colorado Springs office.
Experienced automotive manufacturing engineer needed to translate real-world final-assembly shop-floor expertise into product requirements, workflows, and documentation for an AI-driven assembly planning platform.
Kennedy Valve is hiring a Digital Manufacturing Engineer to develop and deploy data-driven applications and shop-floor integrations that boost operational performance and decision-making.
Experienced voice communications engineer needed to design, integrate, and sustain analog and digital voice systems for NASA operations at Kennedy Space Center.
SpringRole is the first professional reputation network powered by artificial intelligence and blockchain to eliminate fraud from user profiles. Because SpringRole is built on blockchain and uses smart contracts, it's able to verify work experienc...
734 jobs
🔮
Hi, I'm Risa! Your AI Career Copilot
you, just ask me below!
