Senior Manufacturing Engineer

JobSpace; Auckland; On-site; NZD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Rocket Lab is seeking experienced Senior Manufacturing Engineers to own products in production, lead root-cause efforts, and drive manufacturing excellence. You will bridge production, quality, supply chain, and design to quickly resolve issues and implement robust processes.

The role emphasizes leadership, problem-solving, and hands-on deployment of Lean and Six Sigma in a high-performance space manufacturing environment.

Qualifications

• 5+ years manufacturing/production/process engineering in the trenches.
• Ship results independently and lead teams to do the same.
• Influence stakeholders, assess risk quickly, and implement lasting solutions.
• Thrive in high-pressure environments—with speed and precision.

Responsibilities

• Own products in production as the go-to expert.
• Lead root-cause analysis and corrective actions on failures.
• Dispositon non-conformances on flight hardware using engineering judgment and risk assessment.
• Bridge production, quality, supply chain, and design engineering for rapid problem-solving.
• Create bulletproof production procedures and processes.
• Design reliable assemblies and test fixtures and develop mission-critical test methods.
• Champion Lean/Six Sigma continuous improvement and lead design reviews as DFM/DFT expert.
• Launch new products and revisions into production and plan capital equipment upgrades with business cases.
• Implement planning, quality, ERP, and data systems.
• Train engineers and production teams and break down complex projects to deliver on time.

Skills

Problem solving

Leadership

Risk assessment

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Education

Engineering degree

Tools

GD&T

CNC programming

CAM software

Job description

Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company delivering responsive launch services, complete spacecraft design and manufacturing, payloads, satellite components, and more – all with the goal of opening access to space. The rockets and satellites we build and launch enable some of the most ambitious and vital space missions globally, supporting scientific exploration, Earth observation and missions to combat climate change, national security, and exciting new technology demonstrations.

Manufacturing Engineering powers Rocket Lab's factories from concept to full-scale production. We turn early ideas into manufacturable designs, build and optimise the systems that make them real, and constantly push for faster, better, smarter ways to build. We engineer the factories that build the rockets, boosting quality, cutting cost, and accelerating build rate.

We're seeking experienced Senior Manufacturing Engineers across multiple disciplines to take ownership of complex products, lead problem-solving initiatives, and drive manufacturing excellence.

The opportunities include:

• Assembly & Integration – Mechanical, Assembly, Propulsion, Mechanical Test
• Machining – CNC programming, precision manufacturing, GD&T

In your application, please indicate which discipline(s) align with your experience and interests.

You’ll get to:

• Own & Ship:
  • Own products in production as the go-to expert
  • Drive teams to hit production targets at top quality
  • Execute product improvements and design qualifications
• Solve & Fix:
  • Lead root cause analysis and corrective actions on failures
  • Disposition non-conformances on flight hardware using engineering judgment and risk assessment
  • Bridge production, quality, supply chain, and design engineering for rapid problem-solving
• Build & Improve:
  • Create bulletproof production procedures and processes
  • Design reliable assemblies and test fixtures
  • Develop mission-critical test methods for safety-critical systems
  • Champion Lean/Six Sigma continuous improvement
• Lead & Scale:
  • Drive design reviews as DFM/DFT expert
  • Launch new products and revisions into production
  • Plan and execute capital equipment upgrades with business cases
  • Implement planning, quality, ERP, and data systems
• Train engineers and production teams
• Break down complex projects and deliver on time
• Establish and execute project plans autonomously
• Maintain product manuals and lessons-learned docs

The must-haves include:

• Engineering degree (Electrical, Mechanical, Mechatronics, Chemical, Materials, or related)
• 5+ years manufacturing/production/process engineering in the trenches
• Well-tested debugging complex systems on the factory floor
• You ship results independently and lead teams to do the same
• You influence stakeholders, assess risk fast, and implement lasting solutions
• Thrive in high pressure environments – can hustle and built for speed

Your specialty (one or more):

• Avionics & Test: Expert-level debugging of electro-mechanical systems, instrumentation (oscilloscopes, power supplies, sensors, serial devices)
• Composites: Deep knowledge of resins, ablatives, sandwich structures, tooling, and manufacturing processes
• Machining: Advanced GD&T, inspection methods, CAM software (3/5-axis CNC), 3+ years shop experience
• Assembly & Integration: Led mechanical assembly, integration, propulsion, or mechanical test operations
• Aerospace/defence/high-reliability manufacturing background
• DFMEA, PFMEA, Fault Tree, root cause/corrective action expert
• SPC, capacity modelling, value stream mapping
• Environmental testing (vibe, shock, thermal, vacuum)
• Mentored or led engineers

We expect you to own it. Problems become solutions. Documentation gets done. Projects ship on time. You communicate clearly, lead when needed, support teammates always, and show up ready to build the future.

We take delivery incredibly seriously. Failure is not in our DNA. The work is hard, demanding, and not for the faint-hearted.

If you're a high performer, hungry for work with genuine impact where your engineering excellence directly shapes space exploration, national security, and critical infrastructure, you've found your place.

In return, you'll solve problems that actually matter alongside experts who run toward challenges, not away from them.