Hands-on Manufacturing Engineering Lead — Spacecraft Production

Front Door Defense; Golden, Northern (CO, KY); Hybrid; USD 125,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

100% company-paid medical, dental, and

Vision insurance

Life and disability coverage

401(k) plan with equity options

Daily catered lunches

Relocation assistance

International exposure

Generous vacation and holidays

Job summary

Loft Orbital is seeking a Lead Manufacturing Engineer to scale spacecraft production while maintaining high quality on the Golden, Colorado floor. This hands-on leader mentors engineers, defines process plans, and troubleshoots production issues to keep builds on track.

You’ll develop work instructions, routings, and BOMs, validate tooling and layouts, and drive continuous improvement. The role blends technical leadership with direct execution to enable flight-worthy hardware.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in Manufacturing/Production Engineering in aerospace or high-reliability hardware.
• Hands-on contributor with leadership experience on a production floor.
• Understanding of electronics assembly, wiring, and precision hardware integration.
• Ability to read GD&T, mechanical drawings, schematics, and BOMs.
• Experience with EBOM/MBOM/PBOM, routings, and ERP/MRP/MES systems.
• Strong problem solving using root cause analysis and corrective actions.

Responsibilities

• Lead manufacturing engineering for spacecraft builds and scale production.
• Develop and maintain process plans, work instructions, routings, and BOMs.
• Troubleshoot on the production floor with technicians; remove blockers.
• Validate processes, tooling, fixtures, and production layouts.
• Lead root cause investigations and preventive actions.
• Provide DFMA feedback to Design Engineering for manufacturability.
• Ensure EBOM/MBOM alignment and manufacturing documentation in ERP systems.
• Drive continuous improvement in quality, throughput, and efficiency.
• Mentor Manufacturing Engineers and align practices across the team.
• Serve as liaison between Engineering and Operations on the floor.

Skills

Leadership

Hands-on

DFMA feedback

Root cause analysis

Lean manufacturing

ERP/MRP/MES

Electronics assembly

Reading prints & specs

Process improvement

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Tools

ERP/MRP/MES

CAD

Python

Job description

Loft Orbital is seeking a Lead Manufacturing Engineer to scale spacecraft production while maintaining high quality on the Golden, Colorado floor. This hands-on leader mentors engineers, defines process plans, and troubleshoots production issues to keep builds on track.

You’ll develop work instructions, routings, and BOMs, validate tooling and layouts, and drive continuous improvement. The role blends technical leadership with direct execution to enable flight-worthy hardware.