Aerospace Manufacturing Engineering Leader

Karman Space and Defense; Mukilteo (WA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

401(k) with company match

Paid Time Off

Health Savings Account

Flexible Spending Accounts

Life and AD&D Insurance

Short/Long-term Disability

Tuition Reimbursement

Job summary

Karman Space & Defense in Mukilteo, WA is seeking a Manufacturing Engineering Manager to lead a large engineering manufacturing group on a 9/80 on-site schedule. You will manage labor demand, allocate resources across concurrent programs, and drive career development while maintaining engineering standards and training.

The role requires strong leadership, DoD experience, and the ability to coordinate with program leads to set realistic schedules and staff work packages.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in manufacturing engineering environments.
• Bachelor of Science in Engineering.
• 5+ years in engineering leadership, including 2+ years in aerospace.
• Experience in resource planning, scheduling and managing technical staff.
• Demonstrated ability to drive data-driven scheduling across multiple programs.
• Support career growth balancing program needs with individual development.
• Ability to route design sign-offs, waivers and contested technical calls.
• DoD Secret clearance or ability to obtain and maintain one.

Responsibilities

• Consolidate labor demand across programs into a single functional view.
• Serve as traffic controller for functional resource requests.
• Drive proactive hiring by identifying staffing gaps from demand data.
• Allocate resources across programs to balance workload and growth.
• Track assignments against work orders and identify utilization issues.
• Coordinate logistics for engineering standards and training delivery.
• Maintain qualification ladders and monitor time-to-independence for new hires/transfers.
• Support scoping of engineering tasks into staffable work packages.
• Collaborate with program leads to set realistic schedule and effort expectations.
• Identify required skill sets and route ambiguous items to technical experts.

Skills

People leadership

Resource planning

Scheduling

Technical collaboration

Education

B.S. in Engineering

Secret clearance eligible

Job description

If you are unable to complete this application due to a disability, contact this employer to ask for an accommodation or an alternative application process.

Manufacturing Engineering Manager

Engineering Full Time Mukilteo, WA, US

30+ days ago Requisition ID: 3992

Salary Range: $140,000.00 To $170,000.00 Annually

MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING MANAGER

Karman Space & Defense is a leader in the rapid design, development, and production of critical, next-generation system solutions that align with the U.S. Department of War and its allies’ core mission priorities, and meet the accelerating demand for access to space. Building on nearly 50 years of success, we deliver Payload & Protection Systems, Aero/Hydrodynamic Interstage Systems, and Propulsion & Launch Systems to more than 80 prime contractors supporting over 130 space and defense programs.

This role is part of our Tactical Missiles and Integrated Defense Systems business, which designs and develops integrated missile and defense systems that support critical missions across air, land, and sea. We combine comprehensive analysis, engineering, and program execution capabilities to deliver mission-tailored solutions that reduce lead times, lower costs, and simplify complex multi-vendor supply chains. Backed by decades of flight-proven and fielded performance, we design and build mission-critical technologies including launch systems, propulsion, payload integration solutions, UAV components, missile subsystems, and Safe & Arm systems.

The Manufacturing Engineering Manager leads the operational and people‑management backbone of a manufacturing engineering group. This role centralizes labor demand, manages day‑to‑day functional resource allocation, supports structured career development, connects programs with the right technical expertise, and ensures engineering standards and training are delivered effectively across a large number of concurrent programs.

This is a full-time on-site position at our Mukilteo, WA location. The role will be on a 9/80 work schedule.

Responsibilities

• Consolidate labor demand across programs into a single functional-group view, integrating schedule and staffing needs.
• Serve as traffic control for functional resource requests by staging, sequencing, and identifying conflicts early.
• Drive proactive hiring by identifying staffing gaps from consolidated demand data.
• Allocate functional resources across programs to balance workload and support individual career growth goals.
• Track assignments against work orders and identify over‑ or under‑utilization.
• Coordinate logistics for engineering standards and training delivery, including scheduling and completion tracking.
• Maintain qualification ladders and monitor time-to-independent-qualification for new hires and transfers.
• Support programs in scoping engineering tasks into clear, staffable work packages.
• Collaborate with program leads to establish realistic schedule and effort expectations.
• Identify required skill sets for engineering requests and route ambiguous or contested items to appropriate technical experts.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum 7+ years working directly in a manufacturing engineering environments.
• B.S. in Engineering.
• 5+ years of engineering leadership experience, including a minimum of 2 years in aerospace and/or engineering.
• Demonstrated experience in resource planning, scheduling, and direct people management of technical staff.
• Ability to manage data-driven scheduling and operational cadence across numerous concurrent programs.
• Experience supporting career growth and balancing program needs with individual development.
• Capability to partner with technical experts and route design sign-offs, waivers, and contested technical calls appropriately.
• Experience helping programs translate ambiguous engineering requests into scoped, staffable work packages.
• A current U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Secret security clearance or the ability to obtain and maintain one.

Preferred Qualifications

• Discipline-specific technical depth in the relevant engineering domain.

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) with company match
• Paid time off
• Health Savings Account (HSA) with company contribution
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• Company-paid life and AD&D insurance
• Short- and long-term disability coverage
• Tuition reimbursement

Karman Space and Defense is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law.