Composite Manufacturing Technician

Frontera Space; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity participation

In-person role in Austin

Job summary

Frontera Space in Austin, Texas, seeks a Composite Manufacturing Technician to support fabrication of airframe structures and tooling. You will cut, lay up, cure, inspect, and assemble composite parts using prepreg, wet layup, and VARTM, working closely with engineering and manufacturing teams to translate drawings into quality hardware.

The role demands hands-on experience with ply cutting, kitting, tooling-board prototypes, and vacuum bagging, with a track record in safe resin handling and

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience fabricating composite parts with prepreg, wet layup, and VARTM.
• Experience with ply cutting, kitting, fiber orientation, and layup to drawings.
• Experience contributing to tool design and making mould prototypes.
• Knowledge of vacuum bagging, resin prep, infusion setup, debulking, and cure.
• Ability to read engineering drawings and use measuring tools.
• Ability to maintain precise material/process records and report issues.
• Understanding of safe handling of resins, adhesives, solvents, and heated equipment.

Responsibilities

• Cut, identify, orient, and kit composite plies per drawings and ply books.
• Fabricate composite parts using prepreg layup, wet layup, and VARTM.
• Support tool design and layout with mold geometry and resin flow.
• Prepare prototype and production molds; surface finishing and release agents.
• Install vacuum bags and related components; monitor infusion and cure.
• Demold, trim, drill, bond, assemble, and perform dimensional inspection.
• Follow work instructions and document material usage and results.
• Collaborate with engineers and quality to troubleshoot and improve repeatability.

Skills

Ply cutting

Prepreg layup

VARTM

Vacuum bagging

Demolding

Dimensional inspection

Tool design support

Quality documentation

Tools

CNC ply cutters

CAD tools

Laser projection

Digital ply templates

Job description

Frontera Space is developing a next-generation air-breathing hypersonic vehicle and is seeking a Composite Manufacturing Technician to support fabrication of composite airframe structures, pressurized structures, tooling, and development hardware.

This hands-on position supports composite manufacturing from tool preparation and material cutting through layup, infusion, cure, trimming, assembly, and inspection. The technician will work closely with engineering and manufacturing teams to turn drawings, ply books, and work instructions into quality hardware.

The ideal candidate brings practical experience with ply cutting and kitting, prepreg fabrication, wet layup, and vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM). Experience contributing to tool design and layout and preparing prototype tooling-board molds and composite or steel production tooling is important. Experience working in an AS9100 quality environment is highly desirable.

The position will be filled based on experience, demonstrated capability, and independence, with assignments and technical guidance matched to the selected candidate.

This is a full-time exempt position reporting in person to the Composites Supervisor in the Austin, Texas area.

What You’ll Do

• Cut, identify, orient, and kit composite plies according to drawings and ply books, maintaining material identification, traceability, storage requirements, and applicable out-time records.
• Fabricate composite parts using prepreg layup, wet layup, and VARTM, following established requirements for fiber orientation, ply sequence, overlaps, splices, and debulking.
• Support tool design and layout by providing practical input on mold geometry, part release, access, vacuum sealing, resin flow, and fabrication sequence.
• Prepare and maintain prototype molds made from tooling board and production molds made from composite, steel, or other tooling materials, including surface finishing, sealing, release-agent application, and routine repairs.
• Install vacuum bags, release films, peel ply, breathers, flow media, resin lines, and vacuum connections; perform leak checks and monitor infusion and cure processes.
• Support demolding, trimming, drilling, bonding, assembly, and dimensional inspection while protecting finished surfaces and identifying defects or process deviations.
• Follow work instructions, manufacturing travelers, and quality procedures; document material usage and process results and promptly report nonconforming conditions.
• Work with engineers, quality personnel, and other technicians to troubleshoot fabrication issues, improve repeatability, and transition processes from prototype builds to production.

What Success Looks Like

• You consistently produce composite hardware that meets drawing and process requirements, with complete manufacturing records and material traceability.
• You prepare reliable tooling, execute layups and infusions carefully, and identify problems early to reduce scrap and rework.
• You contribute practical manufacturing knowledge that improves tool design, process repeatability, and the transition from development hardware to production.
• Full-time position.
• Primarily in-person in the Austin, Texas area.
• Regular collaboration with engineering, manufacturing, quality, integration, and test teams.
• Hands-on work with composite materials, tooling, fabrication equipment, and structural hardware.
• Occasional travel to suppliers or test locations may be required.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated hands‑on experience fabricating composite parts using prepreg, wet layup, and VARTM processes.
• Experience with ply cutting and kitting, fiber orientation, ply identification, and accurate layup to drawings or ply books.
• Experience contributing to tool design and layout and preparing tooling‑board prototype molds and composite, steel, or other production tooling.
• Working knowledge of vacuum bagging, leak checking, resin preparation, infusion setup, debulking, and controlled cure processes.
• Ability to read engineering drawings and work instructions and use measuring tools to check tooling and finished hardware.
• Ability to maintain accurate material and process records, recognize defects, and communicate manufacturing issues clearly.
• Understanding of safe handling practices for resins, adhesives, solvents, composite dust, cutting tools, and heated equipment.

Preferred

• Experience working in an AS9100 quality environment, including controlled work instructions, manufacturing travelers, material traceability, and nonconformance reporting.
• Experience manufacturing aerospace composite structures, pressure vessels, tanks, or other demanding structural hardware.
• Experience with CNC ply cutters, digital ply templates, laser projection, or CAD tools used for tooling layout.
• Experience fabricating and repairing composite molds and preparing tooling for repeated production use.
• Experience with ovens, autoclaves, heated tooling, temperature monitoring, and cure data collection.
• Experience with secondary bonding, sandwich panels, core preparation, inserts, and mechanically fastened assemblies.
• Experience helping develop manufacturing processes, document lessons learned, and improve production consistency.

Technical Skills

• Ply cutting, identification, kitting, and material control.
• Prepreg layup, wet layup, and VARTM.
• Tool design support, layout, surface preparation, and release systems.
• Tooling‑board, composite, and metallic mold preparation.
• Vacuum bagging, leak detection, infusion setup, and cure monitoring.
• Demolding, trimming, drilling, bonding, and assembly.
• Dimensional inspection, defect recognition, and manufacturing documentation.

Working Conditions

This role operates in a fast-paced aerospace development environment spanning office engineering, manufacturing, integration, and test activities. The position may involve work around large composite structures, pressure systems, cryogenic systems, test equipment, manufacturing machinery, and flight hardware.

The successful candidate must be comfortable moving between analytical models, first-principles engineering calculations, CAD and drawings, physical hardware, and hands‑on structural testing.

Certain positions supported by this role may involve work subject to U.S. export‑control laws and regulations. Candidates for those roles may be required to meet applicable U.S. export‑control eligibility requirements.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Frontera Space is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing a workplace free from discrimination and harassment and consider applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or genetic information.

Why Join Us?

Join Frontera Space at an early stage and help create a transformational aerospace platform designed to change how high‑speed aircraft and access‑to‑space systems are developed, manufactured, and operated.

You will have the opportunity to influence the vehicle architecture, solve foundational technical challenges, and see your work move rapidly from analysis and design into hardware, testing, and flight. As an early team member, you will take on broad ownership, help establish the engineering culture, and directly shape both the product and the company.

Frontera Space offers meaningful equity participation and the chance to create lasting value while working on technology with the potential to redefine aerospace performance, affordability, and operational capability. This is an opportunity to do more than contribute to an established program—it is a chance to help build the vehicle, the team, and the company from the ground up.