Engineering Development Technician III

APR Consulting, Inc.; Pasadena (CA); On-site; USD 44,000 - 93,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

PTO

Holidays

401k

Medical

Dental

Vision

Job summary

JPL/NASA in Pasadena, CA seeks an Engineering Development Technician III to perform complex mechanical assembly, integration, and testing for flight and prototype hardware. The role requires deep technical expertise, strong judgement, leadership, and mentoring of less-experienced personnel.

Required is a high school diploma with 8 years aerospace experience or an associate’s/bachelor’s with related experience.

Qualifications

• Must have aerospace assembly experience per education path or higher.
• Ability to interpret technical documentation and assembly/test procedures.
• Hands-on experience with mechanical systems for spacecraft development.
• Experience using powered/hand tools and surface preparation/bonding.
• Willingness to travel extensively for off-Lab integration.

Responsibilities

• Perform high-quality mechanical assembly and integration of flight hardware.
• Read drawings, follow procedures, and select precision tools.
• Adhere to cleanroom, contamination-control, and safety standards.
• Support MGSE fabrication, assembly, and test activities.
• Bond surfaces, mix adhesives, and perform bonding operations.
• Operate cranes and MEWPs for critical lifts.
• Assist electrical integration and basic signal-path checks.
• Support environmental tests and assemble test beds for hardware.
• Troubleshoot issues and contribute to process improvements.
• Mentor less-experienced technicians and manage workload planning.

Skills

Aerospace assembly

Technical documentation

Testing experience

Tool operation

Mentoring others

Travel readiness

Education

High School diploma + 8 yrs aerospace

Associate’s degree + 4 yrs

Bachelor’s degree + 1 yr

Tools

CAD platforms

Power tools

Overhead cranes

Mobile Elevated Work Platforms

Microsoft Office (Outlook/Teams)

Job description

An Engineering Development Technician position just opened up in Pasadena, CA at the JPL/NASA facility. In this role you will perform complex mechanical assembly, integration, and testing for flight and prototype hardware. This role requires deep technical expertise, strong judgement, leadership, and the ability to mentor less-experienced personnel. Must have a High School diploma with 8 years of aerospace experience specializing in mechanical assembly; OR Associate’s degree with 4 years of related experience; OR Bachelor’s degree with 1 year of related experience.

Location: Pasadena, CA 91109
Position: Engineering Development Technician III
Compensation: $32.20 – $67.21/hour DOE
Duration: 24 months
Schedule: 1st Shift 9/80

We do offer PTO, holidays, 401k, medical, dental, and vision benefits.

Responsibilities:

This unique opportunity is part of the Mechanical and Control Systems Division (35), which creates advanced mechanical, robotics, thermal, propulsion, onboard GNC, and electronic packaging systems. Division 35 develops hardware and systems from early architecture through design, fabrication, subsystem, and system-level integration and test.

You will be working as an Engineering Development Technician, within the Manufacturing, Packaging, and Test Services Section, which supports the mechanical and electronic fabrication, assembly, packaging, and testing needs of all JPL projects. As a technician, you will perform complex mechanical assembly, integration, and testing for flight and prototype hardware. This role requires deep technical expertise, strong judgement, leadership, and the ability to mentor less-experienced personnel.

• Perform high-quality assembly and integration of flight hardware, including payloads, subsystems, instruments, and spacecraft components.
• Read and follow engineering drawings and assembly procedures; select appropriate tools for precision mechanical work.
• Ensure strict adherence to flight-hardware handling, contamination-control practices, cleanroom protocols, and safety requirements.
• Support fabrication, assembly, transportation, and periodic load testing of MGSE hardware.
• Perform structural and non-structural bonding, including surface preparation, adhesive mixing, and liquid shimming.
• Operate cranes, Mobile Elevated Work Platforms, and Hydra-Sets to support critical lifts.
• Support electrical integration activities, including harness mates/demates, cable routing, safe-to-mate checks, and basic signal-path troubleshooting.
• Support environmental testing (e.g., TVAC, vibe, acoustic, EMI/EMC, mass properties, modal) and assemble instrumentation and test beds for flight, prototype, and R&D hardware.
• Troubleshoot integration issues and contribute to process improvements, including developing custom tooling for complex assembly tasks.
• Maintain organized workspaces, toolboxes, and calibrated tools.
• Provide accurate labor estimates, identify schedule impacts, and collaborate with cognizant engineers on workflow planning, storyboards, and assembly processes.
• Routinely lift, carry, and move materials or equipment weighing up to 50 pounds.
• Work in confined positions for extended periods, including kneeling, squatting, reaching, and twisting as required by hardware access.
• Mentor and support the development of less-experienced technicians.

******IMPORTANT******* This position, because of its associated job duties, has been determined by JPL to be safety-sensitive as defined in JPL’s Drug Free Workplace Requirement. An employee holding this position will be subject to periodic, unannounced, random drug testing. Please refer to JPL’s Drug Free Workplace Requirement for more information. Candidates who are hired into designated safety-sensitive positions will be included in a pool from which individuals are randomly selected to participate in the unannounced drug testing.

Required Skills:

• High School diploma with 8 years of aerospace experience specializing in mechanical assembly; OR Associate’s degree with 4 years of related experience; OR Bachelor’s degree with 1 year of related experience.
• Ability to interpret technical documentation and follow assembly/test procedures.
• Extensive hands‑on experience with mechanical systems, including assembly, testing, maintenance, and troubleshooting in support of spacecraft development.
• Experience using powered tools and hand tools.
• Competency in surface preparation and bonding operations.
• Experience operating Mobile Elevated Work Platforms.
• Familiarity with cleanroom protocol and applicable policies for handling Flight Hardware.
• Ability to mentor less‑experienced personnel and contribute to team development.
• Ability to travel extensively to support off‑Lab integration and test campaigns.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills.
• Working knowledge of basic Microsoft tools (Outlook, Teams)

Desired Skills:

• Competency in surface preparation and bonding operations.
• Experience operating Mobile Elevated Work Platforms.
• Familiarity with Computer‑Aided Design (CAD) platforms to assess hardware.
• Competence operating overhead cranes to maneuver flight hardware.
• Experience supporting a team with critical flight hardware lifts.
• Basic fabrication knowledge and familiarity with periodic load testing of MGSE.

About our client:

Our client is a research and development lab federally funded by NASA and managed by Caltech. Manages many of NASA’s robotic missions exploring Earth, the solar system, and our universe.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.