Staff Manufacturing Process Engineer

Mainspring Energy · Menlo Park, CA

Level: Senior
Team: Process
Experience asked: 10+ years
Industry: Industrial
Posted: 30+ days ago

The role in 30 seconds

A senior process role at Mainspring Energy (industrial) in Menlo Park, CA. In this role, you will partner closely with Mechanical, Electrical, Manufacturing, Quality, and Supply Chain teams to develop robust, scalable manufacturing processes that enable safe, repeatable, and high-volume production.

They ask for: 10+ years
Tools it names: Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, OEE, Root cause, SPC

Read from the posting. The full description is below.

From the plant jobs report · week of October 19, 2026

Process Engineer roles in California: typical posted base $120k–$171k.

Median of the low and high ends of 59 live postings that list pay, out of 94 process engineer openings in California, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.

California plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →

How this role compares

Against 93 other live process postings in California.

Base pay: Not listed in this posting
Experience asked: More than usual (10+ vs 5+)

Skills these teams ask for most

✓ Root cause 46%
✓ DOE 31%
✓ SPC 29%
✓ Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ) 22%
✓ New product launch 22%
Team leadership 21%

✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.

Stands out: this posting asks for Kaizen, OEE, Time studies, Capacity planning, which few similar roles mention. If you have it, lead with it.

It asks for 10+ years. If you're close, apply anyway: requirements are a wish list. Talk to someone doing this work there first.

At a glance

Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.

How to get in at this plant

Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.

1
Pick 2–3 people on the Process team at Mainspring Energy
Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. Use the team search on this page to find them.
2
Send a short, curious note
One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.
3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- Is the work mostly new product launches or sustaining existing lines?
- How much time do you spend on the floor versus at a desk?
- How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
4
Apply with someone vouching for you
If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.
5
Bring proof to the interview
One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.

This plant: Mainspring Energy in Menlo Park

14 other open roles at this site.

Vice President, Electrical Engineering · Reliability · Director+
Sustaining Controls Engineer · Controls
Senior Reaction Controls Engineer · Controls · Senior
Senior/Staff Materials Process Engineer · Process · Senior
Senior Materials and Process Engineer · Process · Senior
Staff Materials and Process Engineer · Process · Senior

All 15 roles at Mainspring Energy →

Full description from Mainspring EnergyAs posted on their careers site.Show

About Mainspring

Mainspring Energy manufactures and delivers fuel-flexible, low-emissions local power solutions that rapidly add new capacity and deliver reliable, affordable, and sustainable electric power. The company began commercial shipments of its Mainspring Linear Generators in 2020 and today has hundreds of megawatts in advanced development and field operations for leading Fortune 500 companies, data centers, and utilities. Mainspring also partners with global energy leaders including AEP, NextEra Energy Resources, Schneider Electric, and more.

The core values that ground our work, guide our decisions, and connect us together:

Pragmatic Optimism

Excellence without Ego

Proactive Collaboration

Job Overview

We are seeking a highly capable Senior/Staff Manufacturing Process Engineer with a strong foundation in manufacturing process planning, industrial engineering, and data-driven problem-solving to bridge the gap between product development and scalable manufacturing.

In this role, you will partner closely with Mechanical, Electrical, Manufacturing, Quality, and Supply Chain teams to develop robust, scalable manufacturing processes that enable safe, repeatable, and high-volume production. You will drive end-to-end process planning, PFMEA workshops, risk mitigation strategies, process validation, and quality planning to ensure new products launch successfully and existing products continuously improve.

This is not a downstream execution role. You will proactively influence product and process decisions by leveraging shop floor data, structured experimentation, and lessons learned from production to eliminate manufacturing risks before they impact volume production.

The ideal candidate combines strong process engineering fundamentals, lean manufacturing principles, and hands-on manufacturing experience, and thrives in a fast-paced, highly collaborative environment where continuous improvement is part of the daily culture.

Manufacturing Process Development

•Develop, validate, and optimize manufacturing processes from early prototype builds through high-volume production
•Lead manufacturing process validation activities using PFMEA, DOE, capability studies (Cpk), and GR&R
•Drive cross-functional, closed-loop risk mitigation plans by partnering with Design Engineering, Quality, and Operations
•Establish manufacturing readiness plans, process validation strategies, and quality gates for new product introductions

Show full description ↓

Manufacturing Optimization & Operational Excellence

•Partner with Industrial Engineering to evaluate cycle times, line balancing, and resource utilization using Yamazumi charts and time studies
•Drive touch-time reduction initiatives through process optimization, improved assembly sequencing, ergonomic improvements, fastening strategies, automation opportunities and subsystem testing
•Lead structured root cause investigations using 8D, 5 Whys, DOE, and statistical analysis to improve first-pass yield and process capability
•Identify and eliminate manufacturing bottlenecks to improve throughput, labor productivity, and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)
•Champion Lean Manufacturing, error-proofing (Poka-Yoke), standardization, and continuous improvement initiatives across production

Manufacturing Scale-Up

•Own the transition of assembly processes from prototype builds to scalable production systems
•Partner with Quality, Supply Chain, Operations, and NPI teams to successfully launch new manufacturing processes
•Support factory layout development, production line design, capacity planning, and equipment selection
•Support new factory launches, manufacturing transfers, and production ramp activities across domestic and international sites

What You'll Bring

•7–10+ years (Senior) or 10–15+ years (Staff) of manufacturing/process engineering experience supporting complex electromechanical products
•Expertise in PFMEA, Control Plans, Process Flow Diagrams, DOE, SPC, 8D, Cpk, and GR&R
•Experience developing scalable manufacturing processes and supporting New Product Introduction (NPI) from prototype through high-volume production
•Experience developing assembly equipment, fixtures, gauges, and automation systems
•Strong knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Kaizen, line balancing, Yamazumi charts, time studies, and capacity modeling
•Proven ability to lead cross-functional technical initiatives and influence engineering decisions through data
•Experience working in fast-paced NPI environments with evolving designs and manufacturing challenges
•Experience in automotive, aerospace, energy, or other high-volume electromechanical manufacturing environments

What Sets You Apart

•Hands-on mindset—you enjoy working on the production floor to validate ideas, troubleshoot issues, and implement improvements
•Comfortable making technical decisions in ambiguous situations while balancing quality, cost, schedule, and manufacturability
•Passion for Lean Manufacturing with a bias toward simple, robust, and cost-effective solutions over unnecessary complexity
•Strong systems thinking with the ability to connect product design, manufacturing processes, quality, and operational performance