---
title: 'Manufacturing Engineer at Vital Lyfe'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/manufacturing-engineer-vital-lyfe-los-angeles-gfm565mdp3mf'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-05'
---

# Manufacturing Engineer at Vital Lyfe

- **Company:** Vital Lyfe
- **Location:** Los Angeles, CA
- **Compensation:** $125k–$145k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-07-02
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-05
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/vital-lyfe/3c408be4-8830-427e-b20a-722402408df2

## Job description

## About Vital Lyfe

Vital Lyfe is a tech company redefining water autonomy through innovation — creating a new category of personal water-making technology built to scale where infrastructure can’t.

## What You'll Do

- Design, develop and optimize manufacturing processes and production lines for our desalination systems—from first builds through high-rate production.
- Lead DFM/DFA initiatives: tooling, fixtures, robot end-effectors, conveyors, automation programming, control systems.
- Work cross-functionally to select equipment, define cycle-times, yield targets, cost-per-unit, quality metrics.
- Develop work instructions, process flows, layout designs; implement and validate manufacturing methods for new systems.
- Own continuous-improvement efforts: reduce cost, increase throughput, improve reliability and uptime in a fast-moving hardware startup environment.
- Collaborate with procurement, quality, test, integration teams and external vendors/suppliers to ensure smooth scale-up & ramp-out of manufacturing.

## What We’re Looking For

Required:

- Bachelor’s in Engineering (Mechanical, Manufacturing, Industrial or equivalent).
- 2+ years professional experience in manufacturing engineering, process development or production optimization (including internships).
- Strong CAD (SolidWorks / other) experience and familiarity with manufacturing automation, tooling & fixture design.
- Hands-on mindset: comfortable designing the process and also working with operators & equipment to validate and refine.
- Strong problem-solving skills, ability to operate in ambiguous/higher-growth environment, clear communicator across teams.

Preferred:

- Experience in consumer hardware production, or systems with high-volume manufacturing.
- Knowledge of pumps, valves, pressure vessels, fluid systems or broadly mechanical-hardware manufacturing.
- Experience with automation programming, conveyors, robotics, fluid/pressure equipment.
- Familiarity with Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, statistical process control (SPC).
- Experience in a hardware startup or mission-driven organization.

Physical Job Requirements - Essential Functions

- Hands on work on development hardware.
- Long periods of standing, crouching, walking.
- Lifting up to 50 lbs.

Why Join Vital Lyfe?

- Work on high-impact problems with global relevance
- Help scale breakthrough technology in water security and climate resilience
- Early ownership in a high-growth, engineering-led startup
- Join a tight-knit, mission-driven team in a fast-paced environment
- Build long-term career equity as we grow

Location Requirement: Ability to work 100% onsite in Torrance, CA (remote or hybrid work will not be considered)

Vital Lyfe is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Vital Lyfe 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 Vital Lyfe

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Vital Lyfe is a climate technology company building portable, aerospace-grade water purification systems that turn any naturally occurring water source—including saltwater—into clean drinking water on demand.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Seed stage; total funding $42.1M)
- **Headquarters**: Hawthorne, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2024
- **Founders**: Jon C. (CEO) and Andrew Harner (COO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Climate Technology Product Manufacturing, Water Purification
- **Target customers**: B2C (outdoor enthusiasts, emergency preparedness, off-grid living), B2B (disaster relief organizations, military, remote operations), and potentially B2G (government/municipal infrastructure alternatives)
- **Mission or purpose statement**: “Rewriting how the world thinks about water” by creating a platform for water autonomy—personal water-making technology that scales where infrastructure can’t.

## Products & Services
- **[Access]**: A portable, intuitive device that uses a simple three-step process (place hose in water → press start → hydrate) to purify water from any natural source, including ocean water. Type: Hardware (personal water-maker) with an integrated platform for monitoring and reliability.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding of **$42.1M** across four rounds (Pre-Seed led by Cantos; Seed rounds led by Interlagos Capital and General Catalyst, including $18M in December 2025 and $6M debt financing)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Cantos, Interlagos Capital, General Catalyst
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount grew **1000% YoY** to 29 employees; LinkedIn followers up 440% yearly; website traffic surged 747% yearly; currently has 5 active job postings and has opened pre-orders for its first product.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Aerospace-grade engineering** applied to consumer water purification—founders and early team include alumni from SpaceX and other aerospace/defense firms.
- **Field-tested simplicity**: The device requires no complex installation or logistics, enabling water autonomy anywhere.
- **Platform approach**: Not just a single product but a scalable platform designed for solo missions, everyday readiness, and large-scale deployment.
- **First-mover in a new category**: Personal water-making that works with saltwater, addressing the 70% of Earth’s surface previously out of reach for portable purification.

## Strategic Focus
- Scaling manufacturing and reducing unit cost to make water autonomy accessible globally.
- Expanding use cases from individual outdoor/adventure to disaster relief, military operations, and off-grid communities.
- Building a brand around “liberation” and independence from fixed water infrastructure.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Described as “engineering liberation”—a mission-driven environment where employees push boundaries and reimagine essential resources. The team is heavily technical (39% in engineering/technical roles) and includes alumni from SpaceX, L3Harris, and other advanced engineering companies.
- **Remote/Hybrid/Office**: Offices in Hawthorne, CA (HQ) and Long Beach, CA. Likely on-site given the hardware and manufacturing focus, but roles may offer flexibility.
- **Notable Perks**: Competitive salary, equity, 401K, health/vision/dental insurance, paid holidays, cellphone & internet stipend, referral bonus, team outings, meals & snacks, EV charging station, spot bonuses.
- **Growth Opportunity**: With 29 employees and rapid scaling, new hires will have significant impact and ownership from day one.

## Sources
1. [vital-lyfe.com](https://www.vital-lyfe.com/)
2. [vital-lyfe.com/about](https://www.vital-lyfe.com/about)
3. [vital-lyfe.com/careers](https://www.vital-lyfe.com/careers)
4. [jobs.ashbyhq.com/vital-lyfe](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/vital-lyfe)
5. [linkedin.com/company/vital-lyfe](https://www.linkedin.com/company/vital-lyfe)

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