Production Team Lead

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 Team Lead, you'll manage our technician team and operate our revolutionary robotic loom, ensuring product quality while supporting new product development. Your work will directly support our mission to reduce global carbon emissions by 1% by pioneering zero-waste production and circular reuse in the fashion industry.

What You'll Do

• Lead and mentor our production technician team across both shifts, developing career paths and growth plans
• Coordinate with Engineers and Project Managers to staff machine testing and production runs
• Operate and maintain our revolutionary robotic loom to meet quality standards
• Produce new woven outputs and coordinate product runs
• Help identify technical limitations and provide insights on machine performance and reliability
• Test new machine subsystems and support machine assembly
• Create and maintain documentation for internal communication and record keeping
• Collaborate with the engineering team on experiments and results
• Identify and communicate suggested improvements to designs, documentation, or processes

Who You Are

• Experienced Team Leader: You bring 2+ years of leading manufacturing or technical teams
• Manufacturing Professional: You have 5+ years of hands-on experience in industrial manufacturing environments
• Hands-on Problem Solver: You're comfortable working with large machinery and robotics
• Detail-Oriented Operator: You maintain excellent quality standards and thorough documentation
• Collaborative Communicator: You excel at clear verbal and written communication in a team environment

Key Questions to Consider:

• Have you led teams in a fast-paced manufacturing environment?
• What experience do you have with industrial machinery operation and maintenance?
• How have you approached quality control and process improvement in previous roles?
• How do you balance operational demands with team development and growth?
• How do you motivate and manage teams across multiple shifts?

A Typical Day Might Include

• Leading morning shift handover meeting with your production team
• Meeting with engineers to discuss quality issues in recent production
• Mentoring a team member on machine troubleshooting techniques
• Documenting the results of the day's testing and sharing insights with R&D
• Collaborating with engineering on a new subsystem test plan
• Having lunch with the team (we're a pretty social bunch!)

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 - $107,000 USD annually (base hourly equivalent, eligible for 1.5x overtime), 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)

Department Operations Locations unspun // oakland factory Yearly salary $97,000 - $107,000 Employment type Full-time