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Watney

Senior Manufacturing Engineer

San Francisco
Level
Senior
Work type
On-site · San Francisco

Not stated in the posting: salary, visa.

Open. First seen 9 October 2026.

About the role

Watney's standard text

Our Mission

Expand human ambition in the physical world.

Critical infrastructure is constrained by labor shortages, hazardous working conditions, and operational complexity. Watney builds and deploys autonomous robotic systems that increase the speed and capacity of buildout, starting with data centers.

About the Role

At Watney, Senior Manufacturing Engineers turn robotic automation concepts into production-ready manufacturing systems.

This is a hands-on, fast-moving engineering role focused on automating the assembly of data center racks and related hardware. You will be expected to move quickly from customer requirements and early concepts to working prototypes and production-ready solutions. You will design fixtures, tooling, mechatronic equipment, and manufacturing processes; develop automation concepts; and work directly with customers to turn urgent manufacturing needs into practical solutions.

What You'll Do

  • Design fixtures, tooling, mechanisms, and mechatronic equipment to enable robotic assembly of data center racks and related hardware.
  • Develop innovative concepts to automate manufacturing and assembly processes, moving rapidly from concept and prototype through production deployment.
  • Make sound engineering tradeoffs and deliver working hardware against aggressive customer and production schedules.
  • Develop automated processes and equipment for fiber-optic cable assembly, routing, handling, and cable management.
  • Design mechanical components and assemblies including machined, sheet metal, plastic, and 3D printed parts.
  • Develop manufacturing processes, production flows, and work instructions for new and automated production lines.
  • Work closely with robotics, controls, electrical, and software engineers to integrate mechanical equipment into complete robotic systems.
  • Work directly with customers to understand their products and manufacturing challenges and translate requirements into actionable engineering solutions.
  • Troubleshoot mechanical, electrical, robotics, and manufacturing issues during development and production ramp.

Requirements

  • Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related engineering discipline.
  • Experience designing and launching high-volume hardware products and manufacturing processes.
  • Strong hands-on mechanical design experience with production hardware, tooling, fixtures, or automation equipment.
  • Experience working with manufacturing teams to take designs from prototype through production ramp.

You May Be A Good Fit If You

  • Are a hands-on mechanical or mechatronics engineer who likes to design, build, test, and debug hardware.
  • Understand how data center racks, servers, cable systems, and related hardware are designed and assembled.
  • Have strong mechanical design skills and experience with mechanisms, motors, actuators, sensors, plastics, machined parts, sheet metal, and cable management.
  • Understand robotic systems and design for automation, including fixtures, tooling, end effectors, and the practical requirements for reliable robotic assembly.
  • Can look at a manual manufacturing operation and develop creative, practical ways to automate it.
  • Have experience taking manufacturing equipment or processes from concept through production deployment.
  • Thrive in a startup environment where priorities move quickly, schedules are aggressive, and engineers are expected to take ownership and get hardware working.
  • Can communicate directly with customers and turn loosely defined manufacturing problems into working hardware and production processes.
Watney's standard text

We’re committed to building a diverse, inclusive team. At Watney Robotics, we welcome people of all backgrounds and identities, and we make hiring decisions based on skills, experience, and potential. If you’re passionate about robotics but don’t meet every requirement, we still encourage you to apply!

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What this role asks for

81% of this description is written for the role. The rest is Watney's standard text, folded away below.

Read against Watney's other open postings on this site.

The team: Hardware HIRES STEADILY

This role is one of 4 open in Hardware. 1 was posted in the last 30 days and the oldest in June: a team that hires all year rather than one being built.

WHAT THE TEAM WORKS WITH, ACROSS ITS POSTINGS

Creo (1 of 4), GD&T (1 of 4), SolidWorks (1 of 4)

OTHER ROLES ON THIS TEAM

From the team and dates on Watney's own job board.

Salary context

44 other open postings titled Senior Manufacturing Engineer state a salary: median USD 126,000 to USD 167,000 a year.

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