Director of Manufacturing Engineering
About Us
Reframe Systems is on a mission to build fast, cost-efficient, and climate-resilient homes for everyone. Through our modular building platform and highly automated production process, we are transforming how homes are built. Our first software-driven factory in Andover, MA, is the "Lab." Your mission is to work within this lab to validate our hypotheses, refine the system, and codify the Microfactory as a Product Playbook for our national expansion.
What We’re Looking For
We are looking for a heavy-hitting Director of Manufacturing Engineering who has lived through the "zero-to-one" and "one-to-ten" phases of facility deployment. They will act as a strategic partner who will own the Microfactory Playbook.
The right candidate will have stood up multiple facilities from scratch. You know where the "hidden" constraints live, from vendor lead times and power requirements to floor slab tolerances and local permitting. You’ll work closely with the factory production staff and with other engineering groups, combining hands-on problem solving with clear communication and a high sense of ownership. You will be responsible for defining the technical standards, vendor ecosystems, and deployment cycles that allow Reframe to scale across the country with precision and speed.
We value preparation over planning; we need a leader who builds systems resilient enough to handle real-world rollout constraints, vendor failures, and shifting requirements without breaking the mission. You will be partnering with the existing operations team to run experiments, test new layouts, and drive incremental design changes.
Responsibilities
Author the "Microfactory-as-a-Product" playbook, a comprehensive, repeatable framework for site selection, layout, commissioning, and ramp-up designed for rapid national deployment.
Partner with Operations to identify bottlenecks and lead rapid on-floor experiments (workcell mockups, material flow trials) to validate hypotheses before codifying them into the scaling strategy.
Design high-efficiency factory layouts using rigorous Takt time analysis and material flow simulations, while accounting for real-life spatial constraints and the "unknown unknowns" of new facility rollouts.
Identify and mitigate real-world rollout constraints, such as labor availability, utility bottlenecks, and logistics, prioritizing resilient preparation over rigid planning to ensure mission success under pressure.
Orchestrate high-stakes relationships with equipment vendors and integrators, negotiating for reliability, long-term support, and scalability rather than just upfront cost.
Lead the technical strategy for standing up new sites, navigating complex facility requirements like power capacity and floor tolerances based on previous deployment experience.
Partner with Software and Automation teams to ensure every factory is "digital first," seamlessly integrating MES, sensors, and real-time dashboards from day one.
Own the budget and ROI analysis for large-scale equipment and automation investments, balancing the implementation of bleeding-edge tech with the requirement for extreme operational reliability.
Perform technical factory studies and document results to drive incremental design changes, ensuring a tight feedback loop between the factory floor and future housing project requirements.
Qualifications
10+ years of experience in industrial, manufacturing, or systems engineering.
Led the technical deployment and commissioning of at least one major production project within a Greenfield or brownfield factory
Experience authoring technical specifications and scaling playbooks used to replicate manufacturing processes across multiple sites.
Proficiency in AutoCAD, Revit, or Factory Design Utilities for floor layout and material flow design.
Experience modeling Takt time, OEE, and throughput using first principles or simulation software (e.g., FlexSim, AnyLogic).
Managed capital equipment procurement and contract negotiations exceeding $1M, including Factory and Site Acceptance Testing (FAT/SAT).
Experience integrating industrial sensors, PLC-based hardware, and MES dashboards within production environments.
BS in Mechanical, Industrial, or Manufacturing Engineering.
Excellent communication and documentation skills
At this time, we are only considering candidates who are authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for current or future visa sponsorship.