Operations Engineer

We’re a fast growing manufacturing startup (30%+ MoM growth) working with top aerospace and defense teams, and we’re hiring an Operations Engineer to scale how we go from RFQs to orders.In a Typical Day, You MightRead and interpret 2D drawings and CAD to understand customer requirementsIdentify manufacturing risks before parts ever get to a supplierPut out a manufacturing fire (sometimes literally)Run supplier operations from RFQ to quote to production management to deliveryHelp turn human engineering judgment (aka all of the above) into reliable, automated software systemsWhat You’ll Work OnYou’ll operate across engineering, operations, and product to help us build and refine our internal processes and tools. You’ll have to wear hardware engineering, software engineering, and supply chain hats as needed.Core Responsibilities Evaluate parts for manufacturability through Vendra’s supplier networkRead and interpret 2D drawings and 3D CAD to understand customer requirements (GD&T, material, finish, setup, etc.)Flag manufacturing risks early and work with customers and suppliers to find alternate pathsSupplier matching and qualificationMatch customer requirements to suppliers in the Vendra network based on capabilities, real-time capacity, and past experienceBuild structure around capturing supplier experience (past performance, on-time-delivery, etc.) and feed it into our matching systemsOperations executionOwn jobs from RFQ through deliveryTroubleshoot issues across suppliers, customers, and internal workflowsStep in wherever things are breaking, and fix themSystem and automationHelp design internal tools for supplier matching, drawing/CAD analysis, and automating RFQ and production workflowsUse data (and AI) to continuously improve how decisions get madeWhat We’re Looking ForWe care much more about how you think and operate than your exact background. You might come from mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, manufacturing, or even a highly technical operations role.Required Qualifications Strong ability to reason about how physical parts get madeStrong experience with manufacturing, specifically inCNC machining (metals, plastics, composites)Additive manufacturing (FDM, SLA, SLS, DMLS, or similar)Proven ability toRead and understand complex 2D drawings (GD&T, tolerances, notes)Analyze CAD models to understand manufacturing processes and identify manufacturing issues quickly and accuratelyComfort operating in ambiguity and making decisions with incomplete informationSome ability to use code or tools (Python, scripts, AI tools) to analyze data or automate workflowsPreferred QualificationsHands on experience taking parts from design → prototype → productionExperience working with suppliers or external manufacturing partnersExperience at a fast-moving startup or in an unstructured environmentYou’ll thrive in this role if you instinctively think about how things are actually made, enjoy solving messy real-world problems across people and systems, and want to turn repeat work into scalable processes.