---
title: 'Senior Manufacturing Engineer at WindBorne Systems'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-manufacturing-engineer-windborne-systems-redwood-city-5397fj657a1r'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-07'
---

# Senior Manufacturing Engineer at WindBorne Systems

- **Company:** WindBorne Systems
- **Location:** Redwood City, CA
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-09-03
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-07
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/windborne-systems/42d258d5-736c-486a-a955-432dcd19e0b2

## Job description

WindBorne is an atypical hardware company: we sell the data our balloons produce, not the balloons. Our customer is our own operations team, which puts engineering and the field about as close together as they can get. We push design changes to flying hardware roughly once a week while scaling production at the same time.

Today every part of that loop is owned by full-stack engineers who each design a part, own its tooling, and tweak it based on field performance. That has worked so far, but manufacturing throughput and tooling maintenance have grown into a full-time load that can no longer share a desk with design iteration. This role exists to take that load.

Manufacturing and Production turns engineering designs into repeatable, high-quality production. We build mechatronic hardware assemblies — PCBA, electronic sensors, ballast, and an adjustable inflatable balloon.

Boards arrive populated from our suppliers. On our floor, we assemble the PCBAs into the electronics assembly, test it, and then build up the mechanical hardware, ballast, and balloon around it. The work is manual to semi-automated, and it has to hold together while the designs underneath it keep changing.

We are running about 1,000 units a month and doubling roughly every six months. Most hardware teams get design lock before volume. We don't, and the manufacturing system has to work anyway.

Own manufacturing engineering for parts as they come off the design team.

You will take on process, tooling, and production responsibility so design engineers can stay on design and bring-up. You will decide which parts of a design are stable enough to tool up and document, and which need to stay flexible — and you will be able to explain why. Above all, you will design the processes that turn a weekly-changing design into a build that runs the same way every time.

This is a hands-on individual contributor role reporting to the Head of Manufacturing.

## KEY OUTCOMES

- Production processes that are designed, documented, and stable enough for the floor to run without the design engineer standing next to them
- DFM feedback delivered early and often, so manufacturability is settled before a design hardens — and design changes that reach the floor without breaking it
- Clean design-to-manufacturing handoffs, including for parts not yet at full design lock, with judgment applied to what gets systematized and what stays flexible
- Functional, end-to-end test fixtures and protocols that catch defects at the electronics assembly stage rather than at final build
- Jigs, fixtures, and assembly aids that raise throughput and repeatability across electronics integration and mechanical assembly
- Equipment and workstations owned from first request through ramp — specification, sourcing, vendor buy-off, installation, and handoff to production
- Station layout, line balance, and capacity modeled ahead of demand, so the floor is ready for the next doubling before it arrives
- A manufacturing backbone built from the ground up — work instructions, revision and change practices, production documentation — extending the lightweight in-house system already in place
- Cycle time and first-pass yield that hold as volume doubles

## CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

- Production processes that are designed, documented, and stable enough for the floor to run without the design engineer standing next to them
- DFM feedback delivered early and often, so manufacturability is settled before a design hardens — and design changes that reach the floor without breaking it
- Clean design-to-manufacturing handoffs, including for parts not yet at full design lock, with judgment applied to what gets systematized and what stays flexible
- Functional, end-to-end test fixtures and protocols that catch defects at the electronics assembly stage rather than at final build
- Jigs, fixtures, and assembly aids that raise throughput and repeatability across electronics integration and mechanical assembly
- Equipment and workstations owned from first request through ramp — specification, sourcing, vendor buy-off, installation, and handoff to production
- Station layout, line balance, and capacity modeled ahead of demand, so the floor is ready for the next doubling before it arrives
- A manufacturing backbone built from the ground up — work instructions, revision and change practices, production documentation — extending the lightweight in-house system already in place
- Cycle time and first-pass yield that hold as volume doubles

## SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS

Required

- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Mechatronics, or a related engineering field
- 3+ years in manufacturing engineering, with a track record of launching assembly line processes, equipment, and/or new products
- Demonstrated process development experience — processes you designed, documented, and put into production
- Strong DFM fundamentals, applied in direct partnership with design engineering
- Experience taking electromechanical or mechatronic products from prototype into production, including electronics assembly and functional test
- Experience designing functional test fixtures and test protocols
- Proficiency in CAD for fixture, tooling, and workstation design
- Able to work on-site in Redwood Shores

## Nice to have

- Have run electronics assembly integration and in-line functional test
- Have worked in high-mix, rapid-iteration environments where the design was still moving
- Know standard process documentation practice — PFMEA, control plans, DOE, SPC
- Are strong on GD&T and tolerance analysis for mechanical parts
- Have specified, sourced, and bought off production equipment with outside vendors
- Have managed suppliers and incoming quality for outsourced parts (3D-printed, laser-cut, PCB/PCBA)
- Have stood up quality, yield, inspection, or documentation systems from scratch
- Have applied Lean or structured continuous improvement to a real line

## BENEFITS

- 401(k)
- Health, dental, and vision insurance 100% covered
- Unlimited PTO
- Equity
- Office food and beverages (minimum 2x catered lunches and dinners a week)

## SALARY

$120,000 – $200,000 plus equity. We are considering a range of backgrounds and experience levels for this position and adjust our offers accordingly to be competitive with market rates.

## LOCATION

1600 Bridge Parkway, Redwood Shores, CA. In person required.

## About WindBorne Systems

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: WindBorne Systems designs, builds, and operates the world’s largest constellation of autonomous, long‑duration weather balloons to capture unique in‑situ atmospheric data and deliver AI‑powered weather forecasts.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series A – total funding $26M)
- **Headquarters**: Redwood City (Redwood Shores), California, United States
- **Founded**: 2019
- **Founders**: John Dean (CEO), Andrey Sushko (CPO), Kai Marshland (CTO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Aviation & Aerospace / Weather Intelligence
- **Target customers**: B2B, B2G – governments, utilities, airlines, renewable energy operators, and commercial enterprises with weather‑sensitive operations
- **Mission**: Build a planetary nervous system that covers 100% of the Earth, providing humanity with unprecedented environmental data and predictions to mitigate the impacts of weather uncertainty and climate change [windbornesystems.com/mission](https://windbornesystems.com/mission)

## Products & Services
- **Atlas Balloon Constellation**: A global fleet of long‑duration smart weather balloons that autonomously control altitude and provide ~50 vertical profiles per balloon, reaching remote oceans and polar regions [windbornesystems.com](https://www.windbornesystems.com/)
- **WeatherMesh**: A proprietary deep‑learning forecast model that fuses Atlas balloon data with other sources to produce forecasts that surpass the accuracy of both physics‑based and other AI models [windbornesystems.com](https://www.windbornesystems.com/)
- **Data‑as‑a‑Service (DaaS)**: Access to real‑time and historical atmospheric profiles from the balloon constellation, sold to governments and commercial partners
- **SaaS (API)**: AI‑based weather forecasts delivered via API, enabling customers to build actionable insights and automations

## Market Standing
- **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total Funding – $26M across 6 rounds (including a $15M Series A, per news reports, and a $5M venture round led by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in December 2024) [linkedin.com/company/windborne](https://www.linkedin.com/company/windborne)
- **Notable Investors / Partners**: Pear VC, Khosla Ventures (seed), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (venture round); partnerships with U.S. and international governments, private‑sector companies, and philanthropic organizations [windbornesystems.com](https://www.windbornesystems.com/)
- **Growth Signals**: 72 employees (+75.5% YoY); 38 active job postings (+1167% YoY); operations in 8 countries (US, Canada, Poland, Singapore, South Korea, Nigeria, Sweden, Kenya); hundreds of balloons launched per month with global scaling underway [linkedin.com/company/windborne](https://www.linkedin.com/company/windborne)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Proprietary data moat**: In‑situ atmospheric data from regions (oceans, poles) where other sensors are scarce – a key input for improving forecast accuracy.
- **Vertically integrated hardware & software**: In‑house design, manufacturing, and AI model development, all based in the USA.
- **First‑mover scale**: Only company operating a long‑duration, controlled‑altitude balloon constellation at this scale (Atlas).
- **Proven model performance**: WeatherMesh consistently outperforms traditional physics‑based and other AI forecast models, validated by government and commercial partners [windbornesystems.com](https://www.windbornesystems.com/)

## Strategic Focus
- Scale the Atlas constellation to permanently close atmospheric data gaps pole‑to‑pole.
- Expand federal and commercial sales (DaaS and SaaS), especially to utilities and the U.S. government.
- Advance WeatherMesh accuracy and develop new use cases in aviation routing, renewable energy grid optimization, and disaster response [windbornesystems.com/mission](https://www.windbornesystems.com/mission)

## Why Work Here
- **Planetary impact**: Every line of code and hardware design directly improves weather prediction, saves lives, and advances climate science.
- **Engineering culture**: “The Loonie Way” – high agency, obsessive problem‑solving, building from scratch, and iterating relentlessly. The team includes alumni from Project Loon, Stanford, and top aerospace/tech companies [windbornesystems.com/careers](https://windbornesystems.com/careers).
- **Hard problems**: Autonomous systems in extreme environments, real‑time data pipelines, and cutting‑edge AI.
- **Work environment**: Based in Redwood Shores, CA; technology is invented, designed, and manufactured in the US. Roles are likely on‑site (many engineering and operations positions specify location). Offices are collaborative and mission‑focused.
- **Growth**: 38 open roles across engineering, operations, business development, and more – a fast‑scaling startup with multi‑year runway [windbornesystems.com/open-roles](https://windbornesystems.com/open-roles).

## Sources
1. [windbornesystems.com](https://www.windbornesystems.com/)
2. [windbornesystems.com/careers](https://windbornesystems.com/careers)
3. [windbornesystems.com/mission](https://windbornesystems.com/mission)
4. [linkedin.com/company/windborne](https://www.linkedin.com/company/windborne)
5. [windbornesystems.com/open-roles](https://windbornesystems.com/open-roles)

## Other roles at WindBorne Systems

- [Part Time Launch Operator - Corpus Christi](https://feeny.ai/job/part-time-launch-operator-corpus-christi-windborne-systems-corpus-christi-ky630jzb75vp) — Corpus Christi, TX
- [Launch Contractor - Uruguay](https://feeny.ai/job/launch-contractor-uruguay-windborne-systems-artigas-ppsys5pjm21j) — Artigas, Uruguay
- [Electrical Engineer Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/electrical-engineer-intern-windborne-systems-redwood-city-yxanrb2he2m7) — Redwood City, CA
- [Launch Operator-Alabama](https://feeny.ai/job/launch-operator-alabama-windborne-systems-alabama-4gje76g48nar) — Alabama
- [Lead Software Engineer - Gov Platforms](https://feeny.ai/job/lead-software-engineer-gov-platforms-windborne-systems-redwood-city-kqax9vq276dy) — Redwood City, CA
- [Meteorological Scientist - Data Assimilation and NWP](https://feeny.ai/job/meteorological-scientist-data-assimilation-and-nwp-windborne-systems-redwood-a2hymqfcy4tc) — Redwood City, CA
- [GTM Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/gtm-lead-windborne-systems-redwood-city-2v2gtspff59v) — Redwood City, CA
- [Chief of Staff to the CEO](https://feeny.ai/job/chief-of-staff-to-the-ceo-windborne-systems-redwood-city-r8q66bc40411) — Redwood City, CA
- [Machine Learning Infrastructure Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/machine-learning-infrastructure-engineer-windborne-systems-redwood-city-chps5jyh06x9) — Redwood City, CA
- [Production Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/production-manager-windborne-systems-redwood-city-xd3n8mkdz1f2) — Redwood City, CA