---
title: 'Lead Manufacturing Engineer at Teleo'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/lead-manufacturing-engineer-teleo-palo-alto-28m7wkxqcaea'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-14'
---

# Lead Manufacturing Engineer at Teleo

- **Company:** Teleo
- **Location:** Palo Alto, CA
- **Compensation:** $150k–$180k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-09-28
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-14
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/teleo/8c05e240-7b8f-43eb-b1e5-3e0bad8893b3

## Job description

Teleo, a Havoc company, is a robotics company that transforms construction heavy equipment, including loaders, dozers, excavators, and trucks, into autonomous robots for commercial and defense applications. Our technology enables a single operator to supervise and control multiple machines simultaneously, delivering significant productivity gains while improving operator safety and comfort. Teleo was founded by a team of experienced technology leaders who previously led the development of Lyft's Self-Driving Car program and Google Street View. Teleo recently announced its merger with Havoc AI, a fast-growing defense technology company developing coordinated fleets of autonomous maritime vessels. This is a unique opportunity to join a team building technology with real-world impact. You will work on cutting-edge 100,000-pound autonomous robots and engineer complex systems at the intersection of hardware, software, robotics, and AI.

## About the Role

We are looking for a Lead Manufacturing Engineer, Contract Manufacturing, to sit at the intersection of Teleo engineering and contract manufacturing, supporting our autonomy retrofit kits from prototype through a stable transition to CM, and owning production from there. You'll collaborate with Teleo's cross-functional engineering, operations and PM teams on internal prototyping and manufacturing-process development, then own the handoff to the CM and shift into overseeing CM delivery, cost, and quality — acting as the primary point of contact when issues arise at the CM.

## Responsibilities

- Partners with engineering on process design and DFX (DFM/DFA/DFT/DFS) for kit builds, fixtures, work instructions, routers, build sequencing, translating designs into a CM-ready package before handoff

- Owns the handoff from Teleo engineering to the CM: process validation, first-article approval, and clear-to-build sign-off via BRR/MRR (Build/Material Readiness Review), confirming parts, documentation, and ECO status are ready for the CM to execute against

- Own CM performance post-transition: delivery, cost, and quality against target; first line of defense for floor issues, with authority to hold CM shipment pending disposition

- Coordinate ECRs/ECOs between the CM and Teleo engineering; keep build documentation current on both sides

- Monitors on-time delivery and cost at the CM; drives root cause analysis and corrective action on production issues

- Enforce quality (inspection, non-conformance, CAPA) and inventory control (WIP, cycle counts, reconciliation) at the CM

- Oversee finished-goods kitting, correct configuration, packaging, and staging for shipment to a partner site or inventory

- Support NPI and ramp-to-volume; specify and validate tooling/fixtures and test stations (in-line and EOL) for new build stations

- Track yield, cycle time, and scrap/rework rate; drive down variance

## Requirements

- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, or Manufacturing Engineering

- 5+ years in manufacturing or process engineering on electro-mechanical hardware that actually ships to the field

- Hands-on with SOP development, box builds, PCB/A, harness and cable assembly manufacturing, and FW/SW flashing

- Comfortable around autonomy systems; integration, test, and validation of sensor/compute hardware (LiDAR, camera, radar, compute)

- Working knowledge of mechanical processes (CNC, casting, sheet metal, powder coating, jigs/fixtures), enough to judge whether a part or process will hold up in the field, and what to flag at the CM's FATP line

- Advanced proficiency interpreting mechanical and electrical designs, with working knowledge of GD&T, tolerance stacking, and basic SPC

- DFM/DFA/DFT experience across NPI, ramp, and scale, able to look at a design and flag manufacturability issues early

- Strong root-cause instincts; can write build docs a CM tech can follow with zero design context

- CM management experience, on-site support and running ECR/ECO across two organizations

- Working knowledge of QMS (ISO 9001, AS9100, MIL-STD), supplier/vendor quality management (incoming inspection, SCAR, vendor scorecards), and inventory control at a CM

- Familiar with CAD (Onshape or similar) and EE design tools (KiCAD, Altium or similar)

- Familiar with ERP/PLM/inventory systems (NetSuite, Ironflow, Odoo, etc.)

- Skilled at using AI tools to accelerate manufacturing workflows automating data review

Bonus Qualifications

- Experience retrofitting or manufacturing autonomous vehicles, off-highway, construction, defense equipment

- Experience with C++ and Python for coding, scripting, debugging, building UIs, building test benches, and troubleshooting

Teleo is an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. All qualified people are encouraged to apply.

## About Teleo

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Teleo converts existing fleets of heavy equipment into semi-autonomous robots that operators can control remotely, improving safety and productivity in construction and mining.
- **Entity Type**: Private, acquired by HavocAI in March 2026 (now an operating subsidiary)
- **Headquarters**: Palo Alto, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2019
- **Founders**: Vinay Shet (CEO) and Rom Clement (CTO)

## Core Business
- **Primary Industry**: Automation Machinery Manufacturing, Robotics, Construction Technology
- **Target Customers**: B2B, serving construction companies, mining operators, and heavy equipment fleet owners
- **Mission/Purpose**: To revolutionize heavy equipment operations by bringing supervised autonomy to existing machines, making worksites safer and more productive while addressing labor shortages

## Products & Services
- **Supervised Autonomy Retrofit Kit**: A hardware/software system that retrofits existing heavy equipment (dozers, excavators, etc.) with teleoperation and semi-autonomous capabilities. Operators control machines from a remote desk, switching between machines and job sites instantly.
- **Remote Operations Platform**: A software platform enabling operators to manage multiple machines from a safe, comfortable remote workstation.
- **Analytics**: Provides operational performance analytics to improve fleet efficiency.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed (acquired by HavocAI in 2026)
- **Total Funding**: $28.2M – $29.8M (conflicting reports) across 4 rounds, including a $150K accelerator round and multiple Series A rounds led by UP.Partners
- **Key Metric**: Annual revenue of approximately $1.8M (pre-acquisition estimate); employee count of 43–56 (varying sources)
- **Notable Investors**: UP.Partners (lead), Trucks Venture Capital, F-Prime Capital
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - Acquired by HavocAI in March 2026, signaling strategic value in defense/autonomy space
  - Named to BuiltWorlds 2026 Robotics Top 50 in Automated Machinery & Related Solutions – Earthmoving & Excavation
  - Active job postings (3 open roles as of recent data)
  - LinkedIn followers: 4,441 (growing ~1%/month, ~19%/year)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Retrofit Approach**: Works with existing heavy equipment fleets rather than requiring new machines, lowering adoption barriers for customers.
- **Supervised Autonomy**: Combines remote operations with autonomous capabilities — machines handle mundane tasks autonomously, operators step in for complex tasks — allowing one operator to manage multiple machines.
- **Patented Safety & Control Systems**: Multiple active patents covering teleoperator workflow assignment and control station safety.
- **HavocAI Backing**: Now part of a larger autonomy company with resources across sea, air, and land domains, expanding market reach.

## Strategic Focus
- Integration under HavocAI to extend all-domain collaborative autonomy capabilities
- Serving construction and mining customers with safe, practical autonomy solutions
- Expanding remote operator capabilities to address industry labor shortages
- Continued product development in supervised autonomy for heavy equipment

## Why Work Here
- **Engineering Focus**: 11 of 17 employees (pre-acquisition) in technical roles — strong engineering culture with technologies including Python, PyTorch, C++, TypeScript, React, AWS, ROS, and Linux
- **Location**: On-site in Palo Alto, CA (292 Lambert Ave — the HQ)
- **Culture**: Startup environment focused on solving real-world problems in construction and mining; emphasis on safety and productivity innovation
- **Recent Hires From**: Notable companies including Nuro, Dusty Robotics, Lyft, Archer, Tesla — suggests high-caliber engineering talent
- **Growth Trajectory**: Acquired by HavocAI with resources for scale; opportunity to work on cutting-edge robotics and autonomy tech
- **Current Openings** (as of recent): Senior Mechanical Engineer (Vehicle Integration & Validation), Lead Perception Engineer, Logistics & Inventory Associate

## Sources
1. [LinkedIn Company Page](https://linkedin.com/company/teleo-ai)
2. [CB Insights Profile](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/teleoai)
3. [PitchBook Company Profile](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/433416-25)
4. [Tracxn Company Profile](https://tracxn.com/d/companies/teleo-ai/__UCxVxpZgXtnE0Bud-VUXpyEciI445vcn7CaUSYy5OhA)
5. [Lever Careers Page](https://jobs.lever.co/teleo)
6. [Company Website](https://teleo.ai)
7. [LinkedIn Post (BuiltWorlds Award)](https://linkedin.com/company/teleo-ai)

## Other roles at Teleo

- [Head of Autonomy](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-autonomy-teleo-palo-alto-8gbg8zv1xnes) — Palo Alto, CA
- [Mechanical Engineer, Vehicle Integration & Product Design](https://feeny.ai/job/mechanical-engineer-vehicle-integration-product-design-teleo-palo-alto-xqthjedbnt0y) — Palo Alto, CA
- [Electrical Integration Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/electrical-integration-engineer-teleo-palo-alto-084rcm9gaazw) — Palo Alto, CA
- [Senior Electrical Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-electrical-engineer-teleo-palo-alto-5cetgpwkyxn2) — Palo Alto, CA
- [Logistics & Inventory Associate](https://feeny.ai/job/logistics-inventory-associate-teleo-palo-alto-hnhwfgykp2pk) — Palo Alto, CA
- [Senior Mechanical Engineer, Vehicle Integration & Validation](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-mechanical-engineer-vehicle-integration-validation-teleo-palo-alto-bf91hx7tt56y) — Palo Alto, CA
- [Field Deployment Technician](https://feeny.ai/job/field-deployment-technician-teleo-florida-93s10htn9zyy) — Florida
- [Senior Autonomy Controls Engineer – Learning-Based Control](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-autonomy-controls-engineer-learning-based-control-teleo-palo-alto-tn45bzebp4qe) — Palo Alto, CA
- [Senior Full Stack Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-full-stack-engineer-teleo-palo-alto-wxtx55f9hx6c) — Palo Alto, CA
- [VP of Commercial](https://feeny.ai/job/vp-of-commercial-teleo-various-7gjqkyk3ypcq) — Various