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Staff Manufacturing Engineer, Paint

Santa Clara, California, United States

Archer is an aerospace company based in San Jose, California building an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with a mission to advance the benefits of sustainable air mobility. We are designing, manufacturing, and operating an all-electric aircraft that can carry four passengers while producing minimal noise.

Our sights are set high and our problems are hard, and we believe that diversity in the workplace is what makes us smarter, drives better insights, and will ultimately lift us all to success. We are dedicated to cultivating an equitable and inclusive environment that embraces our differences, and supports and celebrates all of our team members.

About The Role:

At Archer, we’re building in-house paint and finish capabilities for our high-volume eVTOL program—blending aerospace quality and certification rigor with automotive-level automation and throughput.

The Staff Manufacturing Engineer – Paint will lead and define the end-to-end paint process, commission the paint line, and develop a scalable paint “recipe” that can be replicated across future production sites. This role partners closely with cross-functional internal teams and external paint system integrators and suppliers to bring production-ready paint solutions to life.

What You’ll Do:

  • Lead end-to-end development of paint and coating processes for composite and metallic aircraft structures
  • Define paint line concepts and produce detailed equipment and system procurement specifications
  • Partner with Industrial Design and Design Engineering to translate aesthetic, durability, and tolerancing requirements into manufacturable paint solutions
  • Collaborate with Materials & Processes to qualify coatings, surface prep requirements, chemistries, corrosion protection, and ensure compatibility with bonding and downstream assembly processes
  • Lead supplier selection and technical integration, including FAT/SAT, installation oversight, commissioning, and handoff to production
  • Develop control plans, work instructions, process parameters, SPC charts, and poka-yoke for critical operations
  • Design and deploy automation where it increases throughput and consistency, balancing capital investment against part-rate and scalability targets
  • Lead NPI-to-production qualification, including pilot builds, capability studies, first-article acceptance, lessons learned, and ramp risk mitigation
  • Ensure environmental, health & safety, and permitting compliance in partnership with EH&S and local regulatory teams
  • Troubleshoot quality escapes, lead root-cause analyses, and implement corrective and preventive actions; support warranty and field touch-up processes as needed
  • Develop robust fixturing and material handling solutions to support paint operations

What You Need:

  • Bachelor’s degree or higher in Manufacturing, Mechanical, Aerospace, Materials Engineering, or equivalent
  • 5+ years of hands-on experience developing and running industrial paint/coating processes in aerospace and/or automotive manufacturing; experience with both manual and automated application systems required
  • Demonstrated experience specifying and commissioning paint booths, pretreatment lines, ovens, robotics, and paint application equipment, including managing supplier FAT/SAT
  • Strong background in process control tools (SPC, FMEA, control plans), root-cause problem solving, and NPI-to-production ramp methodologies
  • Working knowledge of coating chemistries, VOC and environmental controls, and paint booth airflow and filtration design
  • Proficiency with 2D and 3D CAD tools to generate manufacturing layouts, assembly models, and detailed part drawings
  • Strong project management, cross-functional communication, and supplier management skills; ability to author technical specifications and lead technical acceptance testing
  • Ability to stay organized and effective in a fast-paced, highly dynamic environment
  • Willingness to travel up to 10% domestically and internationally

Bonus Qualifications:

  • Familiarity with aerospace quality and regulatory expectations (FAA/EASA-style artifacts) is a strong plus
  • Prior experience in high-throughput automotive paint environments or automation-heavy OEM paint shops
  • Experience painting composite structures, including adhesion, outgassing, and cure-related considerations
  • NX software experience
  • Experience scaling production lines from prototype through full-rate production
  • Experience with PLM, MES, and ERP systems
  • Hands-on experience programming and troubleshooting industrial automation (PLC, robots, conveyors, etc.)

Please note that this job description is intended to provide a general overview of the position and does not include an exhaustive list of responsibilities and qualifications.

At Archer we aim to attract, retain, and motivate talent that possess the skills and leadership necessary to grow our business. We drive a pay-for-performance culture and reward performance that supports the Company’s business strategy. For this position we are targeting a base pay between $151,680 - $189,600. Actual compensation offered will be determined by factors such as job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

Archer is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to job applicants with physical or mental disabilities, and those with sincerely held religious beliefs. Applicants who may require reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process should provide their name and contact information to Archer’s People Team at people@archer.com. Reasonable accommodations will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Information collected and processed as part of any job applications you choose to submit is subject to Archer's Candidate Privacy Policy.
Archer is unable to provide work visa sponsorship for this position at the present time.
Archer is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. All aspects of employment are decided on the basis of merit, qualifications, and business needs. We do not discriminate based upon race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
Archer Aviation does not engage with external recruiting agencies/individual recruiters with whom it does not have a prior written agreement. Archer reserves the right to make use of any unsolicited resumes that it receives and bears no responsibility for payment of any fees asserted from the use of unsolicited resumes. If you are a recruiting agency or individual recruiter wishing to do business with Archer, please reach out to People@archer.com. All employment processes are managed by the Archer People Team.

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