Machine Shop Manager
Antora Energy · San Jose, CA · onsite
Antora Energy delivers affordable, reliable energy to industry, data centers, and the grid. Our thermal batteries turn low-cost electricity into always-on heat and power, without supply-constrained critical minerals or multi-year construction timelines.
We are growing our company with people who put team and mission first, value connection through laughter and joy, and work with humility and openness. We are committed to building a diverse, passionate, and creative team dedicated to a future powered by abundant, clean, low-cost energy.
Position Summary
Antora Energy is seeking a Machine Shop Manager to lead the day-to-day operation of our in-house machining shop for the carbon/graphite rigid insulation at the heart of our thermal energy storage batteries. We are expanding our in-house machining capacity in San Jose and this role owns how that shop runs. Reports to the Director of Manufacturing Operations and during the build-out, works day-to-day with the Program Lead.
The shop runs large-format panel-processing and machining equipment — CNC routers and mills, panel saws, wide-belt sanders, wire saws, and track saws — on a material that produces fine, abrasive, electrically conductive carbon dust. Dust control and housekeeping are part of how the shop operates every day, not an add-on.
You will hire and lead the machinist team, execute the production schedule released by Production Scheduling, own floor safety and dust control, and drive cost and throughput. The shop itself is being built out by a cross-functional project team spanning Manufacturing Engineering, Facilities, Supply Chain, and EHS&S; you join early as the operator's voice in layout, equipment selection, and commissioning, and you take ownership of each machine as it is handed over. You will partner closely with materials development, mechanical design, operations, EHS&S, facilities, and procurement.
This is a hands-on leadership role. Early on you will run and troubleshoot equipment yourself and train the first operators; as the team grows you will spend more time on scheduling, people development, cost, and capacity.
Roles & Responsibilities
- Team leadership: Hire, onboard, train, and manage material handlers, manual and CNC machinists and operators. Establish shift plans, cross-training, a skills matrix, and performance expectations. Be the hands-on leader who can set up, run, and troubleshoot any machine in the shop.
- Production execution: Execute the released machining schedule. Own work order execution, setups, first-piece and in-process inspection, and scrap/rework disposition with Quality. Sequence work within the shift against the due dates and priorities set by Production Scheduling; escalate capacity, material, tooling, and equipment constraints the same shift. Report completions, downtime, and scrap accurately and on time. Hit schedule attainment and first-pass yield targets.
- Dust control and housekeeping: Execute the shop's dust-control program on the floor: housekeeping standards, PPE compliance, collector filter and hopper maintenance, daily monitoring checks, and waste handling. Escalate system or exposure issues to EHS&S and Facilities.
- Safety: Lead by example. Execute LOTO, run job and setup risk assessments, report and lead first-line investigation of near-misses and incidents, and make safety visible and routine on the floor.
- Equipment ownership: Take ownership of each machine from the earliest stages. Perform and enforce operator-level preventive maintenance; coordinate with Facilities & Equipment on higher-level maintenance and repairs; track uptime.
- Process discipline and quality: Execute released work instructions and control plans; red-line and drive revisions from floor feedback; manage tooling and consumables usage against standards; support first-article and in-process inspection with Quality.
- Cost and throughput: Own the operational cost levers — tool life, consumable usage, setup time, OEE, scrap. Report machining cost per Module and drive it down. Provide machine rates, available hours, and capability data to Production Scheduling and to make-vs-buy decisions.
- Build-out participation: Provide operator-side requirements to layout, equipment specifications, and acceptance criteria. Lead operator training during vendor commissioning. Participate in pre-startup safety reviews.
- Reporting and coordination: Provide regular status on throughput, yield, cost, safety, and risks to Manufacturing Operations leadership and, during the build-out, to the Program Lead. Serve as the shop's primary interface to Production Scheduling, Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, Facilities, Supply Chain, and EHS&S.
Key Qualifications
- 6+ years hands-on in machining, fabrication, or panel processing, with 3+ years supervising or managing a production machining team or cell.
- Hands-on competence on CNC router/saw/sander-class equipment and/or CNC mills: can set up, run, and troubleshoot, including CAM programming and fixturing.
- Experience machining abrasive, dust-generating non-metallic materials (carbon/graphite, carbon-carbon, ceramics, composites, or engineered wood/MDF).
- Has worked under a formal dust-control and housekeeping program (collector maintenance, PPE, monitoring) in a production environment.
- Reads drawings with GD&T; competent with dimensional inspection tools and in-process inspection.
- Has owned operational metrics — OEE, scrap, tool life, schedule attainment — and used them to drive improvement.
- Clear communicator with engineers, technicians, vendors, and leadership.
- Willing to be onsite full time in San Jose, CA, and hands-on on the shop floor, including in dusty and PPE-required environments.
Additional Qualifications Desired
- Direct carbon/graphite machining experience; background at a graphite/carbon products manufacturer, composite fabricator, or precision non-metallic machine shop.
- Experience with CNC panel saws, wide-belt sanders, or wire saws.
- Participated in a new cell or line startup or in equipment commissioning.
- Has authored or maintained work instructions, control plans, or PM checklists.
- Lean manufacturing / continuous improvement; 5S.
- Experience in a startup or fast-scaling hardware manufacturing environment.
- Routine use of AI tools to accelerate CAM, fixture design, documentation, scheduling, and analysis.
- Exposure to thermal energy storage or adjacent energy technologies.
Work Location: Onsite - San Jose, CA. Periodic travel to supplier and partner sites should be expected.
Salary Range: $125,000 USD - $180,000 USD
Salary Basis: Annual
Please note that the salary range listed above reflects Antora Energy's estimated pay for this position. The actual salary offered will be within the posted range and determined based on several factors including but not limited to a candidate's experiences, credentials and expertise, as they pertain to the position's requirements.
In addition to a competitive base salary, Antora Energy’s Total Rewards program includes equity compensation in the form of stock options, a premium health benefits package with life and disability insurance, a 401K plan with employer contributions, flexible spending accounts, and an industry leading paid-time-off policy that features flexible and inclusive holiday observance, as well as paid volunteer time off.
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When it comes to stopping climate change, we need everyone. We believe that having a diversity of backgrounds and experiences strengthens all of us, and we strive to create an environment where every one of us is empowered to create meaningful change.