Head of Process Engineering, Vandrel

Job description

WHO ARE WE Vandrel is rebuilding America's high-performance magnet wire supply chain. We design and manufacture PEEK-insulated copper conductor in modular micro-factories, producing the wire that goes into the motors, transformers, and power systems that matter most: defense and aerospace platforms, EV traction, and grid and stationary storage. Today, insulated magnet wire is produced by a short list of European and Asian suppliers. That is a problem for every US program that needs higher voltage, higher temperature, or higher power density. Our team is small, senior, and hands-on, and we are closing that gap. WHAT YOU'LL BE DOING - Design and Run the Process: Lead development and operation of Vandrel’s pilot extrusion line for PEEK-insulated copper magnet wire across target conductor gauges, from resin handling through finished, wound-ready wire. - Own the Copper-to-PEEK Interface: Drive surface preparation, oxidation control, adhesion strategy, and bond verification. A very short list of competitors has solved this. We intend to solve it better and patent the result. - Specify and Commission Equipment: Select, source, and bring up extruders, crossheads, dies, cooling, spooling, and inline metrology. Work directly with US, European, and Asian vendors to land equipment configured for PEEK processing. - Define the Quality Envelope: Set the standards for dielectric strength, pinhole rate, elongation, partial discharge behavior, thermal cycling, and fluid compatibility, and the metrology to prove them. - Drive Yield, Throughput, and IP: Take the process from pilot through first commercial runs. Build and document Vandrel’s process IP, trade secrets, and patentable methods. - Design for Replication: Translate line design into a modular, repeatable layout that supports Vandrel’s micro-factory deployment model. - Implement Manufacturing Intelligence: Integrate AI-driven computer vision and acoustic sensors to create a 'Digital Birth Certificate' for every spool, providing meter-by-meter traceability for defense and aerospace clients. - Build the Team: Hire and lead process engineers, technicians, and quality staR. Set a technical culture where senior people run the line alongside the operators. REQUIRED SKILLS - 10+ years in polymer extrusion, wire and cable manufacturing, or high-performance coatings, with at least 5 years in a senior technical leadership role. - Hands-on experience with high-temperature thermoplastics; PEEK, PEKK, PAEK, or comparable semi-crystalline engineering polymers strongly preferred. - Demonstrated track record taking an extrusion or coating process from pilot into production, including yield, cost, and long-term reliability. - Real depth on the copper-to-polymer interface: surface prep, adhesion chemistry, thermal behavior, aging. - Ability to specify and qualify capital equipment from first principles, and to partner with vendors on PEEK-capable tooling. - Operator mindset: comfortable in PPE, at the crosshead, solving a defect at 2am if that is what the line needs. - Familiarity with IEC 60317 and NEMA MW 1000 magnet wire standards is a plus. COMPENSATION AND EQUITY Compensation is benchmarked to senior technical leadership at venture-backed hard tech companies. Base salary is competitive and equity is material; both scale with experience and scope of ownership. For candidates ready to anchor Vandrel’s technical side from day one, we are open to structuring this as a co-founder-level package: co-founder equity, commensurate title, and the authority that comes with it.