We are looking for an Additive Manufacturing Manager with 5+ years of hands-on metal L-PBF experience to own how we print AI-designed heat exchangers for hyperscale data centers. You will be a builder, not someone used to working in a silo: someone who has stood up a metal printing cell or a small fleet, knows powder handling and depowdering firsthand, and has built parts or overseen their builds. You will commission a large-format LPBF printer and run the lab from an empty warehouse. You will also be our DfAM expert who spots problems before we hit them and holds our overseas manufacturing partner to spec. This is a pre-Series A role with competitive equity, working on the picks and shovels of the AI buildout.
What will you be doing?
Stand up and run our in-house metal L-PBF lab in the Baltimore, MD area. This covers buying equipment, commissioning the printer, writing operating procedures, and managing a lab technician who handles powder and daily operation.
Act as our DfAM expert alongside the thermal engineers. Make large (200 to 300 lb), thin-walled, internal-channel heat exchangers printable, and flag problems early. For example, one orientation change doubled a build from 11 to 22 days.
Be the technical owner of our overseas manufacturing partner relationship. Challenge their assumptions, approve parameters and build packages, and reject builds that miss spec.
Oversee the post-print and quality chain: depowdering, support removal, heat treatment, CT scanning, and leak and pressure testing. Take nonconformances to root cause.
Drive down print time, cost and yield loss. Join factory visits abroad one or two times a year, and help shape the company's future production facility.
- Expert in Design for Additive Manufacturing (DFAM) to optimize production processes
- Experience setting up and managing LPBF 3D printing technology
- 5+ years of experience preferred; open to less with relevant exposure and expertise
- Hands-on metal LPBF experience required; polymer experience is not suitable
- Hands-on metal laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) experience on large-format, multi-laser machines (400 mm+ build envelopes)
- Background managing a fleet of 3D printers and overseeing part production
- Ability to work on-site 2 to 3 days a week at the lab in the Baltimore, MD area (commuting range of Philadelphia to Arlington, VA, or willing to relocate)
- 3-16 years of experience as an additive manufacturing manager
- Experience holding outside manufacturers or service bureaus to spec
- Experience with post-print processing and quality testing (stress relief, heat treatment, internal depowdering, CT testing, leak testing, NCRs)
- Practical DFAM experience modifying designs to optimize print yield, weight, cycle time, or cost
- Experience commissioning a metal AM cell or workshop (equipment installation, powder handling and stocking, inert gas, safety)
- Availability for early or late calls and 1 to 2 international trips per year
- On-site presence required for key tasks such as print start and maintenance
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Materials, or Manufacturing Engineering, or similar
- Nice to have: experience at hard-tech startups or in high-consequence metal manufacturing (energy, aerospace, defense, computing, transportation)
- Nice to have: experience managing technicians or technician-to-manager progression
- Nice to have: experience standing up a fleet of 3D printers or a small additive manufacturing workshop
- Competitive equity