Head of Metal Additive Manufacturing, Applications Engineering

Hadrian - Manufacturing the Future

Hadrian is building autonomous factories that help aerospace and defense companies manufacture rockets, satellites, jets, and ships up to 10x faster and up to 2x cheaper. By combining advanced software, robotics, and full-stack manufacturing, we are reinventing how America produces its most critical parts.

Valued at $1.6B, we’re accelerating our mission with the launch of Factory 3 in Mesa, Arizona, a 290,000-square-foot facility creating 350 new jobs. We are expanding rapidly to support thousands of future hires, launching Hadrian Maritime to expand into naval production, and introducing a Factory-as-a-Service model that delivers complete systems instead of individual parts.

Hadrian is backed by leading investors including T. Rowe Price, Lux Capital, Founders Fund, and Andreessen Horowitz, our fast-growing team is united around reindustrializing American manufacturing for the 21st century and beyond.

The Role:

We are seeking a Head of Metal Additive Manufacturing Applications Engineering to lead a customer-facing applications engineering team and serve as the technical leader responsible for translating customer requirements into scalable, production-ready metal additive manufacturing (AM) solutions. This role includes managing and developing a team of applications engineers, guiding Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) and process strategy in collaboration with customers, and establishing standardized methodologies that improve yield, throughput, and quality across high-volume programs.

What You’ll Do:

• Serve as the primary technical lead for strategic customer accounts, guiding requirements definition, technical reviews, feasibility assessments, qualification planning, and issue resolution to ensure scalable, production-ready outcomes.

• Lead and develop the Applications Engineering team, establishing execution priorities, standardized methodologies, and scalable playbooks across DfAM, process development, qualification, and production support.

• Partner cross-functionally with Operations, Manufacturing Engineering, Materials & Process Engineering, Quality, and Supply Chain to transition programs from initial builds through qualification and sustained production.

• Oversee process development, build planning, throughput optimization, and post-processing integration to improve yield, quality, and cost performance across high-volume programs.

• Establish structured problem-solving, monitoring, traceability, and continuous improvement practices that enhance process stability, customer satisfaction, and operational scalability.

What We’re Looking For:

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Materials, Aerospace, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical field (or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience).

• 8+ years of experience in metal additive manufacturing applications engineering, process engineering, or manufacturing engineering, including experience in customer-facing technical roles.

• 2+ years of people leadership experience, including managing or leading technical teams.

• Demonstrated hands-on experience with metal additive manufacturing processes (e.g., laser powder bed fusion), including parameter development, build planning, powder handling, post-processing integration, and production ramp.

• Experience supporting parts and processes from prototype through qualification and full-rate production, including documentation, inspection strategy, process control, and readiness criteria.

What Will Set You Apart:

• Master’s degree in a relevant engineering discipline.

• Experience working within aerospace, defense, or other regulated manufacturing environments with structured qualification and customer approval processes.

• Experience developing standardized application playbooks, parameter libraries, or design guidelines that scale across programs or sites.

• Demonstrated experience presenting technical strategies and performance outcomes to customer engineering teams and executive stakeholders.

Compensation:

For this role, the target salary range is $220,000 - $250,000 (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

• 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

ITAR Requirements

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., 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.

Hadrian Is An Equal Opportunity Employer

It is the Company’s policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees. The Company does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race inclusive of traits historically associated with race (including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles, such as braids, locks and twists), color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, national origin (including, in California, possession of a drivers license), ancestry, citizenship, age, physical or mental disability, height or weight, medical condition, family care status, military or veteran status, marital status, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, genetic information, exercise of reproductive rights, any other basis protected by local, state, or federal laws, or any combination of the above characteristics. 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.