Are you someone who thrives at the intersection of cutting-edge machinery and manufacturing? Do you enjoy leading teams while still getting hands-on with revolutionary technology? If you're passionate about sustainable production and can balance technical expertise with people leadership, we'd love to talk with you.

Why This Role Matters

We're building Vega™, a breakthrough 3D weaving system that turns yarn directly into garments in minutes. As our Production Operations Manager, you will train and develop a team of 20+ technicians at our Emeryville R&D production factory. This role involves significant collaboration with our hardware engineering, product development, and commercialization teams to manage essential trials for our equipment and product development initiatives. You will be responsible for planning and overseeing the daily operations of the factory. This includes leading initiatives in 5S and productivity improvements, as well as ensuring the physical safety of our technician team. Your role will also be crucial in helping to scale the world’s first additive apparel manufacturing system.

What You'll Do

• Lead and mentor a team of 20 technicians across multiple shifts, with a focus on growth, accountability, and clear communication
• Foster a physically and emotionally safe working environment—promoting trust, consistency, and psychological safety
• Oversee machine operation, maintenance, and troubleshooting for our proprietary 3D weaving system
• Collaborate with Engineering and Product teams to plan and oversee production runs and machine testing
• Coach technicians on how to record comprehensive information information in an issue tracking system while running production and machine tests
• Build a management operating system to drive accountability and exception based reporting to allows the team to continuously improve performance.
• Operate machinery and support subsystem assembly during critical production windows

Who You Are

• 8+ years working in industrial manufacturing, ideally in machinery or robotics-heavy environments
• 3+ years managing and training technical teams in a factory or production setting
• Background in engineering or equivalent hands-on technical field
• Strong people leadership skills and relentless on creating safe, high-performing teams
• Experience with production systems, quality control, and equipment performance tracking (OEE or similar)
• Thoughtful human and intentional working habit.
• Comfortable working on your feet and occasionally lifting up to 30 lbs

Bonus points

• Experience with textile machinery, looms, or yarn-based production systems
• Exposure to lean manufacturing, automation, or hardware engineering
• Familiarity with robotics or early-stage startup environments

Why unspun?

We're not just another tech company - we're reinventing how things are made. Here's what makes us special:

• Mission-Driven: Your work directly reduces global carbon emissions
• Revolutionary Technology: Work with the world's first 3D weaving technology for apparel
• High-Impact Role: Shape our production processes from the ground up
• Amazing Team: Work with passionate experts across disciplines
• Growth Opportunity: Develop professionally as we scale manufacturing operations
• Comprehensive Benefits: Details below, but we take care of our team

Our Culture

We're relentless in pursuing our mission, intentional in our decisions, and fundamentally human in how we work together. We celebrate small wins, speak up to benefit many, and aren't afraid to make mistakes along the way.

Benefits

The salary range for this role is $97,000 - $170,000 USD annually, based on experience. plus 0.02% equity.

Benefits include:

• Self-regulated vacation policy
• Comprehensive (gold & platinum) health/dental/vision insurance
• Company sponsored 401k
• Monthly wellness or education grant up to $150
• Pre-tax commuter benefits
• Weekly team lunches

Our Philosophy

We won't roll our eyes if your socks don't match. We get it. But then, if you spend those extra few minutes in the morning matching your socks and shirt, we get that too. Our workspaces are sometimes spotless and sometimes chaotic, and we celebrate messy exploration. We work through complex problems but generate simple and elegant solutions. We strive to look at things differently, and never do anything solely because "that's the way it's always been done."

We're a team of designers and engineers, industry-veterans and serial entrepreneurs, artists and developers. We're aspiring chess masters and climbers, bakers and photographers. Originally spun out of Stanford and the University of Colorado, we now call the SF Bay Area home, with strong ties to Hong Kong. We are looking for teammates who share our desire to work on ambitious problems and leave the world better than we found it.

unspun is an equal opportunity employer, and we are committed to being a diverse team that reflects a broad range of background, thought, and experience. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, status as an individual with a disability, status as protected veteran, or any other legally protected characteristics. Women, minorities, and people from underrepresented backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.

Location

Emeryville, CA (On-site, 9am-6pm Monday to Friday)