---
title: 'Manufacturing Development Engineer at Freeform'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/manufacturing-development-engineer-freeform-los-angeles-1qh63d3de251'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-05'
---

# Manufacturing Development Engineer at Freeform

- **Company:** Freeform
- **Location:** Los Angeles, CA
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-08-05
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-05
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/freeformfuturecorp/jobs/7827061003

## Job description

## MANUFACTURING DEVELOPMENT ENGINEER

Freeform builds AI-native manufacturing systems that unify software, hardware, and physics to produce industrial-scale parts at the speed of human ideation. By treating manufacturing as a single integrated system, we unlock a new era of innovation where complex hardware is designed, built, and scaled without limits.

As a Manufacturing Development Engineer at Freeform, you will design the processes, tooling, and fixturing behind some of the most geometrically complex metal parts in production today. Tight tolerances, intricate internal features, and multi-step post-processing paths are the norm, not the exception, and these parts are headed for some of the world's most advanced hardware systems. You'll be building processes that don't exist yet, where precision and scale have to work together from day one.

This is a greenfield engineering problem, not an optimization exercise. You'll think in systems, bring a craftsman's eye to your work, and make pragmatic tradeoffs that compound in the right direction over time. If you've thrived in high-velocity hardware environments where the processes didn't exist yet and the stakes were real, this role was built for you.

Responsibilities:

- Work closely with senior engineers to design and implement scalable manufacturing processes for new hardware and printed parts
- Design, build, and iterate on tooling, jigs, and fixtures to support reliable, high-throughput production
- Develop and refine test procedures and post-processing steps to improve part flow through the factory
- Develop lightweight documentation and process standards to support scaling production without slowing engineering iteration
- Help identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies in how parts, materials, and data move through the factory, and work with cross-functional teams to improve them
- Support the transition of new processes and tooling from R&D into production, partnering with the production team to ensure a smooth handoff

Basic Qualifications:

- Bachelor's degree in mechanical, manufacturing, or related engineering field
- Internship or professional experience in manufacturing, development engineering, or build engineering
- Experience working with hand tools, machinery, or complex hardware assembly

Nice to Have:

- 2+ years of experience in a hands-on manufacturing or production engineering role
- Experience with manufacturing process development in a fast-paced hardware environment
- Understanding of GD&T and/or how to read drawings
- Experience with metal additive manufacturing or precision post-processing
- Exposure to fixturing, DFM, or process validation
- Familiarity with MRP/ERP tools and production tracking systems
- Ability to translate high-level engineering goals into practical factory processes

Location:

- Based in Hawthorne, our vertically integrated facility brings technology development, R&D, and production together under one roof. We operate at the center of LA’s deep tech ecosystem, surrounded by some of the most ambitious hardware innovation happening anywhere in the country.

What We Offer:

- We have an inclusive and diverse culture that values collaboration, learning, and making deliberate data-driven decisions.
- We offer a unique opportunity to be an early and integral member of a rapidly growing company that is scaling a world-changing technology.
- Benefits
- Significant stock option packages
- 100% employer-paid Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance (premium PPO and HMO options)
- Life insurance
- Traditional and Roth 401(k)
- Paid vacation, sick leave, and company holidays
- Generous Paid Parental Leave and extended transition back to work for the birthing parent
- Free daily catered lunch and dinner, and fully stocked kitchenette
- Casual dress, flexible work hours, and regular catered team building events
- Compensation
- As a growing company, the salary range is intentionally wide as we determine the most appropriate package for each individual taking into consideration years of experience, educational background, and unique skills and abilities as demonstrated throughout the interview process. Our intent is to offer a salary that is commensurate for the company’s current stage of development and allows the employee to grow and develop within a role.
- In addition to the significant stock option package, the estimated salary range for this role is $90,000-$130,000, dependent on the candidate's academic level (Bachelors, Masters, or PhD) and demonstrated out of classroom experience.
- Freeform is an Equal Opportunity Employer that values diversity; employment with Freeform is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

## About Freeform

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Freeform builds the world’s first AI-native manufacturing system – autonomous factories that use advanced sensing, compute, and machine learning to 3D-print industrial-grade metal parts at unprecedented speed and scale.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series B, raised $67M in Feb 2026)
- **Headquarters**: Hawthorne, California, USA
- **Founded**: 2019
- **Founders**: Erik Palitsch (CEO), Thomas J. Ronacher (President & Co-Founder)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Industrial Automation, Additive Manufacturing (Metal 3D Printing), Physical AI
- **Target customers**: B2B, primarily serving mission-critical industries: Aerospace & Defense, Aviation, Automotive, Advanced Energy, Consumer Electronics, Robotics, and Motor Sports.
- **Mission or purpose statement**: “To radically change the way things are made” and “unlock advanced manufacturing for every industry” by treating manufacturing as a single, integrated AI-native system.

## Products & Services
For each major offering:
- **AI-Native Manufacturing System**: A fully integrated, software-defined network of autonomous factories. This system uses proprietary compute, sensors, controls, and ML to sense, learn, predict, and control metal formation in real-time. It unifies hardware and software to produce industrial-scale parts from prototype to full production, all under one roof.
- **Physical AI Stack**: The company built its own technology stack (compute, sensors, controls, software) to enable a new method of metal 3D printing that is faster, more predictable, and cost-effective than traditional methods.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Annual Revenue: $4.5M (LinkedIn estimate); Total Funding: $126M
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: NVIDIA (NVentures), AE Industrial Ventures (AE Ventures), Two Sigma Ventures, Founders Fund, Threshold Ventures, 8VC, Linse Capital, Valor.
- **Growth Signals**:
    - Raised $67M Series B in February 2026 to scale up laser AI manufacturing.
    - Named to Fast Company’s “World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2026.”
    - 48 active job postings as of mid-2026, with year-over-year hiring growth of +81.5%.
    - Headcount growth of 9.4% year-over-year (approximately 50 employees).
    - Key hires from SpaceX, Tesla, Apple, Google, Velo3D.

## Competitive Advantages
- **First-principles technology**: The company built all technology from scratch (compute, sensors, controls, ML stack) because the necessary tech didn't exist. This creates a deep technical moat.
- **AI-native, not AI-applied**: Their system is designed from the ground up to be autonomous, learning, and predictive, unlike traditional manufacturing methods that apply AI as an afterthought.
- **Proven leadership**: Founded and led by ex-SpaceX engineers (Erik Palitsch was Principal Architect of the Starship Vehicle and led the Merlin & Raptor engine programs) and a Chief Scientific Officer with deep experience in additive manufacturing (Tasso Lappas, former CTO at Velo3D).
- **Speed and scale**: Promises the ability to go from prototype to full-scale production faster than any competitor, enabling a "death of slow speeds and unpredictable systems."

## Strategic Focus
- **Scale up operations**: The primary focus of the $67M Series B is to scale the technology and expand production capacity.
- **Industry expansion**: Targeting a wide range of industries including aerospace, defense, automotive, energy, and consumer electronics.
- **Talent acquisition**: Aggressively hiring top-tier cross-disciplinary talent (MechE, Electrical, Software, ML/AI, Process, and Engineering leadership) to build out the team.
- **Product innovation**: Continuing to push the boundaries of speed, quality, and scale in metal additive manufacturing.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Described as a team of "first-principles thinkers" with "low ego" and a "healthy sense of humor." The company emphasizes working on "hard problems" and is driven by a mission to fundamentally change manufacturing.
- **Working policy**: Fully on-site in Los Angeles, CA (Hawthorne). This is a shop-floor and lab-heavy environment, ideal for those who want to be hands-on with hardware.
- **Compensation & Equity**: Offers competitive compensation and pre-IPO shares, meaning all employees are shareholders in the company’s success.
- **Notable Perks & Engineering Culture**: Opportunity to work with some of the most advanced manufacturing technology in the world (lasers, robotics, ML). The environment is described as high-trust, high-impact, and cross-disciplinary. The company encourages applications even if there is no exact role listed, signaling a flexible and growth-oriented culture.
- **Talent density**: The team includes top talent from SpaceX, Apple, Google, Tesla, Velo3D, and other leading tech and manufacturing companies.

## Sources
1. [freeform.co](https://freeform.co/)
2. [Freeform Careers](https://freeform.co/careers)
3. [Freeform Company Page](https://freeform.co/company)
4. [Freeform Greenhouse Job Board](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/freeformfuturecorp)
5. [LinkedIn - Freeform](https://www.linkedin.com/company/freeformfuture)
6. [TechCrunch - $67M Series B](https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/19/freeform-raises-67m-series-b-to-scale-up-laser-ai-manufacturing/)
7. [TechCrunch - $14M Venture Round](https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/22/ex-spacex-engineers-land-14m-to-scale-new-method-for-3d-printing-metal/)

## Other roles at Freeform

- [Electrical Engineering Intern (Spring 2027)](https://feeny.ai/job/electrical-engineering-intern-spring-2027-freeform-los-angeles-0806bphqm9rg) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Senior Factory Infrastructure Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-factory-infrastructure-engineer-freeform-los-angeles-m0pv1y34aqqz) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Factory Infrastructure Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/factory-infrastructure-engineer-freeform-los-angeles-62ec1ncja35w) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Additive Engineering Intern (Summer 2027)](https://feeny.ai/job/additive-engineering-intern-summer-2027-freeform-los-angeles-1jkg1yg9wb5k) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Mechanical Engineering Intern (Spring 2027)](https://feeny.ai/job/mechanical-engineering-intern-spring-2027-freeform-los-angeles-vyt1gep498wt) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Electrical Engineering Intern (Summer 2027)](https://feeny.ai/job/electrical-engineering-intern-summer-2027-freeform-los-angeles-yq6a82we64ds) — Los Angeles, CA
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- [Process Engineering Intern (Summer 2027)](https://feeny.ai/job/process-engineering-intern-summer-2027-freeform-los-angeles-ahm5ck5w13a5) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Electrical Engineer (New Grad Summer 2027)](https://feeny.ai/job/electrical-engineer-new-grad-summer-2027-freeform-los-angeles-eeppz69v0gpa) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Manufacturing Engineer (New Grad Summer 2027)](https://feeny.ai/job/manufacturing-engineer-new-grad-summer-2027-freeform-los-angeles-k0jdheqkmmvc) — Los Angeles, CA