(Senior) NPI / Manufacturing Engineer (m/f/d)

Rolle

Hive Robotics is building Europe’s first full-stack orchestration platform for unmanned systems: connecting, controlling, and commanding multi-vendor drone and robot swarms.

Our RF communication systems are made in Germany, deployed on active frontlines, and targeting a highly valued tactical communication market with zero sovereign alternatives today.

As our first dedicated NPI / Manufacturing Engineer, you own the path from engineering release to serial production.

You take new products and design changes from prototypes through pilot builds into repeatable, documented manufacturing at our external manufacturing partners, and you shape what we bring in-house as we scale.

You report to the SVP Finance & Operations.

This role is hands-on by design: hardware, engineering, and operations are on-site in Munich, and you are on our partner’s floor when builds run.

Expect regular on-site presence at our manufacturing partner during builds and ramp-ups.

• Verantwortlichkeiten
• External Manufacturing Management
• Own the technical relationship with our external manufacturing partners, alongside procurement: build readiness, technical clarifications, deviations, and quality feedback loops
• Steer our electronics production at the partner across its full scope: PCB assembly, RF test and calibration, box-build, and cable / harness assembly, held to IPC-A-610 Class 3 workmanship standards
• Prepare and hand over complete, unambiguous production data packages: drawings, BOMs, assembly and test instructions, and revision control
• Coordinate ramp-up phases within an APQP-style framework: first-article inspections and PPAP, yield and defect tracking, and corrective actions between our engineering team and the partner’s floor
• New Product Introduction & Design Transfer
• Own the transition of new products and design changes from engineering into production at our manufacturing partners: manufacturability from the first prototype, release readiness at the gate
• Lead cross-functional Design for Manufacturability / Assembly (DFM/DFA) reviews with engineering, quality, and procurement: cost, testability, tolerances, and assembly effort, before any design freeze
• Own manufacturing and unit cost transparency: drive design-to-cost against target costs set with Finance, run should-cost analysis with procurement, and treat cost as a first-class release-gate criterion alongside quality and testability
• Plan and run prototype and pilot builds end to end: build plans, material readiness, support during the build, and findings driven back into design
• Define and validate manufacturing and test processes so they are repeatable, documented, and ready to scale
• Processes, Documentation & Production Data
• Create and maintain the production documentation our partner builds from: assembly work instructions, process flows, test specifications, and inspection criteria
• Own the engineering BOM (e BOM) release process and the e BOM-to-m BOM transfer: release gates, engineering change management (ECR/ECO), and data hygiene at the source
• Help shape, and then work within, the PLM-supported release process we are introducing
• Support the secure handling of sensitive and export-controlled technical data in production documentation and supplier transfers
• In-house Production
• Shape what production we may bring in-house as we scale: pilot line concept, stations, tooling, and test setups
• Define the split between our partner and in-house steps and own the transition when it happens
• Troubleshoot process and quality issues during builds: root-cause analysis, containment, and permanent fixes
• Anforderungen

This is a broad and demanding role, with a clear path for career growth.

You do not need to tick every box or master every topic from day one.

If the core is there and you have the drive to grow into the rest, we want to hear from you.

• Must Have
• 5+ years in new product introduction, manufacturing engineering, or technical supplier quality roles, ideally in a growing company
• Degree in mechanical, electrical, manufacturing engineering, or a comparable field
• Hands-on experience steering external manufacturing partners (EMS / contract manufacturers): builds, ramp-ups, and quality feedback loops
• Design-transfer experience: DFM/DFA reviews, prototype and pilot builds, process validation
• Structured working style: you document what you release and turn tribal knowledge into work instructions, checklists, and release gates
• Manufacturing-first mindset: you treat an ambiguous BOM or an undocumented change as a defect waiting to ship
• Fluent English and German
• Based in Munich or willing to relocate
• Nice to Have
• Electronics manufacturing depth: assembly and test of electronic products and systems, including RF test and calibration
• Experience defining and releasing engineering BOMs and driving e BOM-to-m BOM transfer
• PLM/ERP experience: working in or rolling out system-supported release processes
• Lean manufacturing / Six Sigma methodology experience
• Defense, aerospace, security, or regulated industry background
• Experience building an NPI or manufacturing engineering function from scratch rather than inheriting one
• Design-to-cost and cost engineering: should-cost analysis, target costing, and value engineering (VAVE)
• IPC-A-610 Class 3 workmanship and APQP / PPAP experience in a regulated QMS environment (ISO 9001, path to EN 9100 / AQAP)
• Obsolescence and configuration management, and counterfeit-part avoidance (e. g. SAE AS5553) for long-lifecycle defense electronics
• Über uns
• Why Hive
• Real ownership from day one in a fast-scaling deep-tech company with products already in serial production and in the field.
• Work on sovereign European technology that matters, at the intersection of robotics, RF, and autonomy.
• Small, high-caliber team with short decision paths and direct access to founders and architects.
• Modern office in Munich with the tooling and equipment you need to do your best work.