Senior Manufacturing Engineer, Mechanisms Build & Test

Long Beach, California

At Relativity Space, we’re building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Our Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. But that’s just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the known.

Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Here, you're not just executing tasks; you're solving problems that haven’t been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. Whether you’re in propulsion, manufacturing, software, avionics, or a corporate function, you’ll collaborate across teams, shape decisions, and see your work come to life in record time. Relativity is a place where creativity and
technical rigor go hand in hand, and your voice will help define the stories we’re writing together. Now is a unique moment in time where it’s early enough to leave your mark on the product, the process, and the culture, but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The most meaningful work of your career is waiting. Join us.

About the Team: 

The Manufacturing team owns all process development, fabrication strategy, and production equipment for Terran R, our next generation, reusable rocket. This team has a wide variety of responsibilities – from factory floor layout, to developing complex tooling for novel processes, and interfacing with our vehicle engineering team to heavily influence design of the rocket. We leverage our deep expertise to translate engineering requirements into highly optimized production lines, working cross functionally to consistently enhance the vehicle program.

About the Role:

  • Own a major mechanized subassembly and its child components from design release through test and successful integration onto the Terran R launch vehicle—lay out the build and test flow to ensure an efficient, high-quality product flow capable of scaling with time.  
  • Drive the assembly’s build and test effort through design integration, part sourcing, assembly sequencing, mBOM development, build and test work order creation, and specification authoring.  
  • Support workcenter development by considering assembly and test operations, safety, tooling and capital equipment requirements, and company operational goals.
  • Provide hands-on support to the shop floor and production personnel, promptly addressing any issues that arise and offering upstream feedback to drive design for manufacturability. 
  • Analyze and disposition recurring manufacturing discrepancies and lead multi-disciplinary teams on root cause analysis and corrective actions. 
  • Foster a culture of critical thinking and imaginative problem-solving, constantly challenging the established norms in engineering and manufacturing, and pushing the boundaries to achieve efficient production throughout workcenter. Mentor junior manufacturing engineers, providing guidance to support technical and professional development. 

About You:

  • BS degree in aerospace, mechanical, or manufacturing engineering with 5+ years of experience building and testing hardware in a manufacturing environment. 
  • Extensive experience authoring work instructions and/or test procedures to build and test interdisciplinary mechanical, electrical, and pneumatic assemblies.  
  • Experience interfacing with design engineering, manufacturing, and production personnel. 
  • Extensive experience leading, executing and managing large process and/or quality improvements with large scope of ownership. 
  • Ability to work autonomously with little supervision in a fast-paced environment. 
  • Proficient in at least 2 of the following: machining, precision drilling, mechanical fastening, and torquing operations, pneumatic and/or electromechanical assembly, electrical and/or pneumatic functional checkouts, integrated testing, tooling design and fab, subassembly workcenter development. 

Nice to haves but not required:  

  • New product introduction of an aerospace hardware system into a manufacturing, test, and production system with proven success. Along with transitioning products from prototype to high volume production. 
  • Working knowledge of rocket subsystems including structures, mechanisms, high pressure gas systems and/or avionics. 
  • Expert understanding GD&T and drafting principles. 
  • Experience in capacity analyses, DFMEA/PFMEA, value stream mapping. 

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At Relativity Space, we are committed to transparency and fairness in our compensation practices. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors.

Compensation is only one part of our total rewards package. Relativity Space offers competitive salary and equity, a generous PTO and sick leave policy, parental leave, an annual learning and development stipend, and more! To see some of the benefits & perks we offer, please visit here.

Hiring Range:

$130,000 - $166,000 USD

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

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