Head of Process Engineering, Vandrel

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.

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