Manufacturing Lead: CNC

SAEKI

SAEKI - MANUFACTURING AT SOFTWARE SPEED Europe's defense industrial base cannot respond at the speed modern conflict requires. Legacy suppliers operate on month-long timelines. Tribal knowledge is retiring. Supply chains are fragile. SAEKI is building the operating system for autonomous factories — the infrastructure that lets Europe manufacture mission-critical components at software speed. You'll own the physical buildout of SAEKI's factories — from empty floor space to fully operational, highly automated production lines. You are the person who turns a factory layout on a screen into a running facility. THE ROLE As the Factory Deployment Lead, you are the architect and program manager of our physical factory infrastructure. Your mandate is to plan, build out, and commission Factory ONE in Germany — and then package that playbook so it can be replicated globally. You own the full deployment lifecycle: factory layout and material flow design, equipment selection and procurement, utility and infrastructure planning, installation supervision, automation integration, and ramp-up to series production. You work backwards from production targets and forwards from a bare concrete slab, orchestrating every trade, vendor, and installation sequence required to stand up a world-class autonomous manufacturing facility on time and on budget. Based on-site at Factory ONE in Munich, with travel to equipment vendors and future factory sites as needed. WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR * 7+ years of experience in factory planning, industrial engineering, or manufacturing facility buildout — ideally in automotive, aerospace, or high-volume precision manufacturing. You have personally led or been deeply embedded in at least one greenfield factory deployment or major production line installation. * Factory Layout and Material Flow Mastery: You think in terms of value streams, takt times, and material flow. You can design a factory layout that optimizes for throughput, flexibility, and automation — and you know how to iterate it as requirements change. * Equipment Integration: Hands-on experience specifying, procuring, installing, and commissioning capital equipment — CNC machines, industrial robots, conveyor systems, 3D printers, or similar. You understand foundations, utilities (power, compressed air, cooling), and the mechanical/electrical interfaces required to bring machines online. * Automation Deployment: Deep understanding of how to deploy and integrate automated production systems — robotic workcells, automated material handling, vision systems, and PLC-controlled infrastructure. You don't need to write PLC code, but you must understand how automated systems fit together at a systems level. * Program Management Rigor: You manage complex, multi-vendor buildout schedules with dozens of parallel workstreams. You are relentless about timelines, dependencies, and risk mitigation. * Vendor and Contractor Management: Experience managing relationships with machine tool OEMs, system integrators, construction contractors, and utility providers. You know how to hold vendors accountable and negotiate effectively. * Lean / Industrial Engineering Foundations: Strong grounding in lean manufacturing principles, line balancing, ergonomics, and continuous improvement. You design factories that are efficient from day one, not just functional. * Software-Driven Mindset: You are energized by the idea of a software-defined factory. You understand that the physical layout must be designed hand-in-hand with the digital infrastructure — sensors, networking, edge compute, and data collection are first-class citizens in your factory plans. * Location: Based in Munich (on-site at Factory ONE). Travel to vendor sites and future factory locations required. * Language: Fluent in German and English. WHAT WE'RE NOT LOOKING FOR * Traditional plant managers who optimize steady-state operations. This role is about building factories, not running them. * People who plan on paper but don't supervise execution. You will be on the floor during installation, commissioning, and ramp-up — hard hat and steel toes. * Engineers who treat automation and IT infrastructure as an afterthought to be "added later." At SAEKI, digital and physical infrastructure are designed together from the start. * Executives who need a large support team before they can be effective. You will start lean and build the team as the deployment scales. * People who are uncomfortable with ambiguity and rapid iteration. Factory plans will change as our technology evolves — you must be able to adapt without losing momentum. WHAT WE OFFER * Mission: Rebuild the industrial sovereignty of the West. Your work directly enables the production of mission-critical hardware for defense and space. * Total Ownership: High-stakes autonomy in your domain. You own both the problems and the solutions — and have the authority to execute. * The Environment: Access to a 5,000m² state-of-the-art facility featuring 5-axis CNCs, industrial robots, and industrial 3D printers. Your work runs on real hardware from day one. * The Team: "Special Forces" model. Everyone senior, everyone ships. No politics, no bureaucracy. Direct feedback, high standards. * Compensation: Competitive salary + meaningful equity. * Location: Zurich HQ or Factory ONE in Munich, depending on role. Hybrid options available where applicable. APPLY * Resume: Focus on systems you've built and owned. * GitHub/Portfolio: Show us work you're proud of — code, machines, or production systems. * Cover letter: Why this mission? Why now? What would you build first?

SAEKI

SAEKI - MANUFACTURING AT SOFTWARE SPEED Europe's defense industrial base cannot respond at the speed modern conflict requires. Legacy suppliers operate on month-long timelines. Tribal knowledge is retiring. Supply chains are fragile. SAEKI is building the operating system for autonomous factories — the infrastructure that lets Europe manufacture mission-critical components at software speed. You'll be the person who figures out how to make a part before anyone — or anything — else does. At SAEKI, "Part Zero" is the first physical proof that a component can be manufactured. Your job is to take an engineering drawing, devise the manufacturing strategy, write the CAM program, set up the machine, and cut the first good part. Once you've proven it out, your process becomes the foundation that our automation systems scale. THE ROLE As a Part Zero Machinist at Factory ONE, you are the bridge between engineering intent and proven manufacturing reality. You'll receive new part geometries — often complex, often in demanding materials — and own the full journey from CAM programming through first-article approval. You'll select tooling, define workholding strategies, write and optimize multi-axis toolpaths, set up the machine, and run the first part. Then you'll document everything so the process can be handed off to our automated production cells. Based on-site at Factory ONE in Munich. WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR * 7+ years of CNC machining experience, with significant time spent programming and proving out new parts — not just running established jobs. * CAM Programming: Advanced proficiency in HyperMill. You can take a STEP file and a drawing and produce a complete, collision-checked, multi-axis program. * Process Engineering Mindset: You think in terms of manufacturing strategy — fixturing concepts, operation sequencing, datum schemes, and how to hold tolerance across multiple setups. You see the full process before you cut anything. * 5-Axis Mastery: Deep experience with simultaneous 5-axis machining. You understand tool-axis control, lead/lag angles, and how to use the full kinematic envelope of a machine. * Material Expertise: Proven track record machining aerospace-grade materials — titanium, Inconel, high-strength aluminum, stainless steel. You know the feeds, the speeds, and the failure modes. * Tooling & Workholding: Strong knowledge of cutting tool selection, custom fixture design, and creative workholding solutions for complex geometries and thin-walled structures. * First-Article Discipline: Experience with first-article inspection processes (AS9102 or equivalent). You understand what it takes to prove a part meets spec — and you document your process so others can repeat it. * Handoff to Automation: Willingness and ability to document your process — tooling lists, setup sheets, parameter sets, inspection plans — in a way that enables automated or semi-automated production. Your tribal knowledge doesn't stay in your head. * Location: Based in Munich (on-site at Factory ONE). * Language: Fluent in German; English proficiency is a plus. WHAT WE'RE NOT LOOKING FOR * Production operators who run the same job on repeat. This role is about solving a new manufacturing puzzle every day. * Programmers who only work in CAM and never touch the machine. People who hoard knowledge. If it only works when you're the one running it, it doesn't work. WHAT WE OFFER * Mission: Rebuild the industrial sovereignty of the West. Your work directly enables the production of mission-critical hardware for defense and space. * Total Ownership: High-stakes autonomy in your domain. You own both the problems and the solutions — and have the authority to execute. * The Environment: Access to a 5,000m² state-of-the-art facility featuring 5-axis CNCs, industrial robots, and large-scale 3D printers. Your work runs on real hardware from day one. * The Team: "Special Forces" model. Everyone senior, everyone ships. No politics, no bureaucracy. Direct feedback, high standards. * Compensation: Competitive salary + meaningful equity. * Location: Factory ONE in Munich. APPLY * Resume: Focus on production challenges you’ve tackled and solved. * Cover letter: Why this mission? Why now? What would you build first?

SAEKI

SAEKI - MANUFACTURING AT SOFTWARE SPEED Europe's defense industrial base cannot respond at the speed modern conflict requires. Legacy suppliers operate on month-long timelines. Tribal knowledge is retiring. Supply chains are fragile. SAEKI is building the operating system for autonomous factories — the infrastructure that lets Europe manufacture mission-critical components at software speed. You'll be the production backbone of Factory ONE — the machinist who takes proven processes and executes them at the highest quality, repeatability, and throughput. Once our Part Zero Machinists have figured out how to make a component, you're the one who runs it — holding tight tolerances part after part, inside production cells that blend manual skill with robotic automation. THE ROLE As a CNC Machinist at Factory ONE, you will operate and optimize our fleet of 5-axis machining centers in production. You'll work from established CAM programs and setup documentation to produce aerospace-grade components at volume — loading jobs, verifying setups, monitoring cuts, and ensuring every part meets spec. You'll work alongside robotic tending systems and automated workflows, acting as the quality-critical human in the loop who catches what sensors miss and keeps production moving. This isn't a traditional job shop. You'll operate in a software-driven factory where machine data flows into AI systems in real time — and your feedback on what's actually happening at the spindle is essential to making those systems smarter. Based on-site at Factory ONE in Munich. WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR * 3–5+ years of experience operating multi-axis CNC machining centers, ideally 5-axis. You've run production — not just one-offs. * Setup Execution: You can independently set up machines from documented process sheets — loading tools, setting work offsets, verifying programs, and running first-off parts to confirm the setup is dialed in. * Production Discipline: Experience running repeat jobs to tight tolerances with consistent quality. You understand SPC, in-process checks, and what it takes to hold spec over a batch — not just on the first part. * Material Knowledge: Experience machining aerospace metals — aluminum, titanium, Inconel, or stainless steel. You understand how materials behave under the tool and can spot trouble before it becomes scrap. * Blueprint Reading: Confident reading and interpreting engineering drawings with GD&T callouts. You know what the tolerances mean and how to measure them. * Measurement Skills: Proficient with precision measurement tools — micrometers, calipers, height gauges, and ideally basic CMM operation. * Problem Solving: When a tool chatters, a dimension drifts, or a finish isn't right, you diagnose and fix it — adjusting feeds, speeds, or tooling as needed. You escalate clearly when something needs re-programming rather than patching around it. * Automation Comfort: You'll work alongside robotic loading systems and software-driven workflows. You don't need to program them — but you need to be comfortable operating in that environment and flagging issues to the automation team. * Location: Based in Munich (on-site at Factory ONE). * Language: Fluent in German; English proficiency is a plus. WHAT WE'RE NOT LOOKING FOR * Button-pushers who only load parts and press cycle start. We need machinists who think critically about every setup and every cut. * People who are resistant to technology. You'll work in a factory where robots, software, and AI are deeply integrated into daily operations. * Operators unwilling to share what they see. Your observations at the machine feed directly into the systems we're building. If you prefer to keep knowledge to yourself, this isn't the right shop. WHAT WE OFFER * Mission: Rebuild the industrial sovereignty of the West. Your work directly enables the production of mission-critical hardware for defense and space. * The Environment: Access to a 5,000m² state-of-the-art facility featuring 5-axis CNCs, industrial robots, and large-scale 3D printers. Your work runs on real hardware from day one. * The Team: "Special Forces" model. Everyone senior, everyone ships. No politics, no bureaucracy. Direct feedback, high standards. * Compensation: Competitive salary + meaningful equity. Location: Factory ONE in Munich. APPLY * Resume: Show us what you've machined. * Cover letter: Why this mission? Why now?