GSE Build Lead

Firefly Aerospace; Jarrell (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Firefly Aerospace is seeking a senior GSE Build Lead to coordinate and perform fabrication, installation, maintenance, troubleshooting, and system upgrades for ground support equipment used in rocket production and launch operations.

The role provides daily technical direction to GSE technicians, establishes work priorities, and ensures work meets engineering requirements while emphasizing safety and efficiency.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• 7+ years hands-on mechanical/industrial experience in aerospace or related fields.
• Proven experience leading technical work or coordinating technician teams.
• Strong ability to read and interpret P&IDs and fabrication drawings.
• Excellent communication and mentoring capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily execution of FGSE fabrication, installation, maintenance, troubleshooting, modification, verification, and system-upgrade activities.
• Assign technician work and coordinate Level I–III resources across scopes.
• Identify constraints and adjust priorities to protect critical path.
• Ensure workmanship, cleanliness, inspection, and turnover requirements are met.
• Provide technical direction for complex mechanical and fluid-system work and investigations.
• Coordinate with Engineering, Quality, Test, Launch and other groups; maintain accurate logs and documentation.

Skills

Leadership

Mechanical systems

Troubleshooting

P&ID interpretation

Safety & compliance

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Tools

JIRA

Confluence

Microsoft Office

Job description

The GSE Build Lead is a senior hands-on technical leader responsible for coordinating and executing Ground Support Equipment fabrication, installation, maintenance, troubleshooting, and system upgrades supporting rocket production, testing, and launch operations. This role provides daily technical directions to GSE technicians, establishes work priorities and execution sequence, removes blockers, and ensures work is completed safely, efficiently, and to released engineering requirements.

The Lead remains actively involved in complex mechanical and fluid-system work while serving as the primary technician-level interface between the workforce, Engineering, Test, Launch, Quality, and supervision.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead daily execution of FGSE fabrication, installation, maintenance, troubleshooting, modification, verification, and system-upgrade activities.
• Translate organizational priorities into clear technician assignments and executable daily work. Coordinating Level I, II, and III technicians across simultaneous work scopes.
• Establish work sequence and identify predecessor, successor, and parallel activities. Maintaining awareness of critical-path work and adjusting technician assignments as priorities change.
• Identify material, tooling, engineering, access, manpower, and schedule constraints before they impact execution. Ensuring technicians understand the required end state before beginning work. Verify that work meets established workmanship, cleanliness, configuration, inspection, and documentation requirements before turnover.
• Perform and provide technical direction for complex mechanical and fluid-system fabrication, installation, troubleshooting, repair, and modification.
• Support systems include stainless-steel tubing and piping, valves, regulators, instrumentation, fluid panels, supports, pneumatic systems, hydraulic systems, high-pressure gas systems, cryogenic systems, pumps, and associated GSE hardware.
• Review and interpret P&IDs, mechanical drawings, fabrication drawings, assembly drawings, work instructions, and technical procedures.
• Identify drawing conflicts, constructability concerns, incomplete requirements, or field-condition discrepancies and coordinate resolution with Engineering.
• Provide constructability and operability feedback during design, fabrication, installation, modification, and system verification activities.
• Support pressure-system verification, hydrostatic proof testing, pneumatic testing, leak checking, flushing, cleaning, commissioning, and turnover when trained and qualified.
• Support tubing fabrication, tube bending and routing, compression fittings, process piping, controlled torque, dimensional inspection, rigging, and material-handling activities.
• Troubleshoot complex mechanical and fluid-system problems and determine when Engineering, Quality, EH&S, or supervisory involvement is required.
• Coordinate work across FGSE, MGSE, EGSE, Engineering, Quality, Test, Launch, and other supporting organizations. Ensure JIRA tickets, work logs, photographs, discrepancies, and completion documentation accurately represent completed and incomplete work.
• Monitor assigned work progress and communicate schedule risks, blockers, and changing priorities to supervision. Lead small project teams or focused execution efforts as assigned while remaining an active hands-on technical contributor.
• Identify work that can be prepared, kitted, fabricated, or staged ahead of need.
• Reinforce tool control, FOD prevention, contamination control, PPE, LOTO, pressure-system controls, and applicable safety requirements.
• Exercise and reinforce stop-work authority when technical, quality, or safety requirements are not adequately understood or controlled.
• Mentor and evaluate technicians through hands-on instruction, technical guidance, and professional feedback.
• Support development and improvement of OJT, standard work, procedures, tooling, fabrication methods, work sequence, and work-area organization.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• High school diploma or equivalency certificate.
• 7+ years of relevant hands-on mechanical, aerospace, industrial, fabrication, aviation, military, process-piping, test, launch, or equivalent technical experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading technical work or coordinating technician teams.
• Advanced experience with mechanical and fluid-system fabrication, installation, maintenance, troubleshooting, or integration.
• Strong ability to read and interpret P&IDs, mechanical drawings, fabrication drawings, assembly drawings, and technical procedures.
• Demonstrated ability to independently plan and sequence complex technical work.
• Strong mechanical and fluid-system troubleshooting capability.
• Ability to identify technical, material, schedule, and execution blockers before they significantly impact work.
• Strong understanding of workmanship, configuration control, inspection, documentation, and turnover requirements.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills. Demonstrated ability to mentor and develop less-experienced technicians.
• Ability to coordinate effectively with technicians, Engineering, Test, Launch, Quality, and leadership.
• Ability to prioritize multiple simultaneous work scopes in a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated commitment to safe execution and stop-work responsibility.
• Ability to safely lift at least 30 pounds.
• Ability to stand for extended periods and work in industrial, production, test-stand, launch-site, and outdoor environments.
• Ability and willingness to travel to project locations as required.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience in aerospace GSE, launch operations, propulsion testing, aviation, oil and gas, semiconductor, chemical/process facilities, shipyards, power generation, or industrial construction.
• Advanced stainless-steel tubing and process-piping experience.
• Experience with high-pressure gas, pneumatic, hydraulic, and cryogenic systems.
• Experience with hydrostatic proof testing, pneumatic leak testing, and system verification.
• Experience with oxygen-clean or contamination-controlled fluid systems.
• Familiarity with ASME B31.3 or comparable piping requirements.
• Experience with cranes, rigging, forklifts, telehandlers, aerial lifts, and industrial material handling.
• Experience with JIRA, Confluence, electronic work orders, Microsoft Office, or similar work-management systems.
• Experience developing OJT, standard work, procedures, tooling, or technician training materials.