Process Engineer

Job Title: Senior Process Engineer

Department: Manufacturing

Reports To: Head of Global Manufacturing

Employment Type: Full-Time

Location: Houston, TX

Persona AI is developing and commercializing rugged, multi-purpose humanoid robots that perform real work. Persona's founding team has a decades-long history in humanoid robotics, bionics, and product development delivering robust hardware that has touched the stars, worked miles below the surface of the ocean, roamed Disney Parks, and has even been featured on a US postage stamp. Our mission is focused squarely on shipping beautiful, reliable products at massive scale, while building a customer-focused team to achieve these aims.

We're looking for a Senior Process Engineer to join our manufacturing team and build Persona's production system from the ground up. This person will report into and function as the right hand to Persona’s Head of Manufacturing. You will lead the development implementation and optimization of a robust manufacturing process of complex humanoid robots. You'll own the complete manufacturing process architecture: including process development, assembly sequencing, factory layout, and scalability.

• Factory Layout & Process Flow: Own the physical and operational design of Persona's manufacturing environment. How the factory is laid out, how sub-assemblies and finished robots move through the space, and how each station connects to the next. Think flow, not in tasks.
• Process Development: Define and document every step in the robot build sequence from incoming components to final test. Build the work instructions, station designs, and standard work that make every build repeatable regardless of who's on the floor.
• Equipment Specification & Procurement: Identify, spec, and own the capital equipment and tooling needed to build robots right. You'll make the call on what to buy, justify it, and integrate it into the line.
• Metrics & Visual Management: Design the factory floor metrics and display systems so that anyone, from a new technician to a first-time visitor, can walk the floor and immediately understand build status, throughput, and where problems are.
• Poka-Yoke & Error‑Proofing: Partner with the Quality Lead to design processes and fixtures where the right build is the only possible build. Mistake‑proof the line at the process level so quality is built in, not inspected in.
• Continuous Improvement: As Persona scales from tens of robots to hundreds, you will own the ongoing optimization of the production system like cycle time, yield, throughput, and cost per unit. Apply lean and kaizen principles to eliminate waste as the line maturing.
• Cross‑Functional
  
  Collaboration:
  
  Work closely with the Quality Lead, Supply Chain Lead, and assembly technicians. Partner with engineering during design reviews to influence DFM/DFA decisions upstream before they become production problems downstream.
• Root Cause Analysis: Lead formal failure analysis and troubleshooting efforts. Institute the use of problem solving tools such as 8D, CAPA and other.
• Compliance & Safety: In addition to ISO
  9001, Persona will pursue compliance with newly established ISO & safety certifications for humanoid robots.

• 10–15+ years in manufacturing or process engineering in a complex hardware environment like robotics, automotive (OEM or Tier 1/2 supplier), aerospace, industrial equipment, or consumer electronics
• Proven experience or strong aptitude to design and build production systems from the ground up
• Experience with implementation of MES systems (Tulip, Pro Planner, or like)
• Deep knowledge of factory layout, line design, and process flow. You've moved equipment around on paper (and in practice) and know how to design a build sequence that actually works
• Hands‑on experience with lean manufacturing principles: standard work, poka‑yoke, 5S, kaizen, value stream mapping
• Strong DFM/DFA instincts. You’re comfortable pushing back on engineering when a design will create production problems
• Experience specifying and integrating capital equipment and production tooling
• Ability to read and interpret technical drawings, GD&T, and assembly…