# Head of Process Engineering, Vandrel at Internship

> Onsite · United States · Director+ · Other · open. Source: https://alderhq.app/jobs/ashby%3Ainterplay%3A88e52799-b2c8-42b7-a788-3ae8dfc65ce7 (read 2026-11-07).

## Facts (observed)

- Company: [Internship](https://alderhq.app/companies/internship)
- Location text: New York
- Where it can be done from (inferred): Onsite · United States (evidence: "Location: New York")
- Posted: 2026-06-29 (131 days ago)
- First seen by alder: 2026-11-02 · last verified: 2026-11-03
- Reposted: 0 times · edited: 0 times
- Apply on the employer's site: https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/interplay/88e52799-b2c8-42b7-a788-3ae8dfc65ce7

## Pay and sponsorship

- Posted pay: not posted
- Market band for similar posted roles (New York, n 841): p25 $165k, median $205k, p75 $250k

## Description (the employer's text)

### 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.

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Data: alder (https://alderhq.app). Cite https://alderhq.app/jobs/ashby%3Ainterplay%3A88e52799-b2c8-42b7-a788-3ae8dfc65ce7 and the date you read it. Observed facts come from the employer's own listing; location reach, level, family and skills are inferences.