Head of Manufacturing Operations

About Etched

Etched is building AI chips that are hard-coded for individual model architectures. Our first product (Sohu) only supports transformers, but has an order of magnitude more throughput and lower latency than a B200. With Etched ASICs, you can build products that would be impossible with GPUs, like real-time video generation models and extremely deep & parallel chain-of-thought reasoning agents.

Job Summary

We’re seeking a results-driven Head of Manufacturing Operations to lead the execution and scaling of our hardware production capabilities. This role will oversee three critical verticals: Manufacturing Operations Program Management (OPM), Trade Compliance, and RMA/Spare Parts Management. You’ll be responsible for standing up and maturing Etched’s manufacturing systems and infrastructure, ensuring seamless new product introductions, compliance with international trade laws, and efficient post-deployment serviceability.

Key responsibilities

Manufacturing Program Leadership

• Own and drive end-to-end manufacturing operations from engineering builds to full-scale production.

• Lead the Manufacturing Operations Program Management (OPM) function, ensuring alignment across design, supply chain, and manufacturing partners.

• Build and manage schedules, manufacturing & supply chain readiness (manufacturing process, testing and material readiness), yields, capacity, test infrastructure across all production phases.

Manufacturing Partner Management

• Act as primary interface to manufacturing partner for build schedule, escalation blockers, drive issue resolution and track action closure

• Work side by side with internal teams, lead day to day operation effort with manufacturing partner, covering build schedule, quality, cost and material status

• Manage JDM manufacturing partner readiness (together with manufacturing engineering team), including SMT, system integration, test infrastructure and manufacturing process validation

• Drive manufacturing cost reduction (test time reduction, alternate sourcing qualification)

• Ensure smooth transition from proto to MP, working together with design and manufacturing engineering team

Regulatory and Technical Compliance

• Develop and maintain robust trade compliance programs aligned with U.S. and international regulations (e.g., CE, UL, ROHS, REACH, FCC).

• Collaborate with legal, engineering and supply chain to ensure correct documentation, licensing, and processes for global shipments and imports.

• Implement compliance controls and audits to minimize risk and ensure operational continuity.

RMA and Spare Parts Management

• Establish a scalable RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization) system for field failure management, returns processing, and root cause analysis.

• Oversee the spare parts lifecycle, including forecasting, stocking strategies, and global distribution to minimize downtime.

• Build processes and infrastructure for serviceability and customer support readiness.

Team Building & Leadership

• Build and mentor a cross-functional manufacturing operations team.

• Establish a culture of accountability, agility, and continuous improvement.

• Develop key metrics and reporting frameworks to ensure visibility across operations.

You may be a good fit if you have (Must-have qualifications)

• Can do attitude. Ability to wear multiple hats and thrive in a fast paced environment.

• 10+ years of experience in manufacturing operations, with a strong background in scaling systems from prototype to production.

• Proven leadership experience across multiple domains including manufacturing program management

• Experience managing RMA and spare parts infrastructure in a high-performance hardware environment.

• Strong project management, vendor management, and cross-functional communication skills.

Strong candidates may also have experience with (Nice-to-have qualifications)

• Experience in semiconductors, AI infrastructure, or data center-scale hardware.

• Familiarity with PLM and ERP systems (e.g., Arena, SAP, Oracle).

• Technical background in Mechanical, Electrical, or Industrial Engineering.

Benefits

• Full medical, dental, and vision packages, with generous premium coverage

• Housing subsidy of $2,000/month for those living within walking distance of the office

• Daily lunch and dinner in our office

• Relocation support for those moving to San Jose (Santana Row)

How we’re different

Etched believes in the Bitter Lesson. We think most of the progress in the AI field has come from using more FLOPs to train and run models, and the best way to get more FLOPs is to build model-specific hardware. Larger and larger training runs encourage companies to consolidate around fewer model architectures, which creates a market for single-model ASICs.

We are a fully in-person team in San Jose (Santana Row), and greatly value engineering skills. We do not have boundaries between engineering and research, and we expect all of our technical staff to contribute to both as needed.