Lead Manufacturing Engineer

Frontdoor Defense; Broomfield (CO); On-site; USD 169,000 - 193,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity compensation

401k matching 4%

Health Insurance: 100% employee, 75% 1

Parental leave and childcare coverage

Flexible vacation and sick time

12 company holidays

Wellness benefit $100 monthly

Relocation support

Job summary

Albedo is hiring a Lead Manufacturing Engineer in Broomfield, CO to define scalable processes for spacecraft buses and payloads. You will lead manufacturing engineering strategies, partner with design to improve manufacturability, and drive production readiness for new product introductions.

You will mentor engineers and technicians, balance near-term execution with long-term strategy, and ensure digital traceability within MES. This is an on-site role demanding hands-on leadership.

Qualifications

• 8-10+ years of experience in manufacturing engineering or related roles for complex hardware, preferably aerospace.
• Experience leading manufacturing initiatives and improving production quality, efficiency, and scalability.
• Hands-on experience with precision mechanical assembly and electromechanical integration.
• Experience transitioning hardware from prototype or development builds into repeatable production.
• Strong understanding of DFM/DFA, tooling development, manufacturing process controls, and continuous improvement.
• Familiarity with CAD, PLM, MES, and configuration management systems.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the technical authority for spacecraft manufacturing, establishing processes, standards, and best practices across buses, payloads, and common hardware.
• Own the development and execution of manufacturing engineering strategies, including process development, tooling, work instructions, and production readiness.
• Partner with design engineering to improve manufacturability and resolve technical challenges before production.
• Lead new product introduction (NPI), transitioning hardware to repeatable production.
• Collaborate with production technicians to troubleshoot build issues and drive corrective actions.
• Improve manufacturing systems and workflows, including mBOMs, work instructions, and digital traceability in MES.
• Identify opportunities to improve quality, efficiency, cost, and scalability balancing short and long-term goals.
• Define manufacturing capabilities, equipment, tooling, and infrastructure for growing production.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship across engineering and production.

Skills

8-10+ years experience

Leadership

DFM/DFA

Precision assembly

Electromechanical integration

Cross-functional collaboration

Production readiness

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical/Manufacturing/Aerospace Engineering

Tools

CAD

PLM

MES

Job description

Lead Manufacturing Engineer

Define and implement scalable manufacturing processes for Albedo's spacecraft buses and payloads

Location: Broomfield, Colorado

Compensation: $169,436 - 192,675 USD / year

About The Role

Be One Of The Bedo 100

Albedo is making Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) mainstream, building the infrastructure to enable every satellite mission to enter this new orbital domain. We build buses, integrated satellites, and turnkey missions for customers to thrive in VLEO, below 300 km, where proximity compounds performance and drag self-cleans debris. As part of the first 100 employees at Albedo, you will have a big impact on Albedo's trajectory to proliferating VLEO - whether you're advancing hardware to increase satellite longevity, scaling production for large constellations, building next-gen flight and ground software to push performance, or enabling missions that matter for national security and our day-to-day life here on Earth.

Albedo takes a first-principles approach - in space and in business. We move with speed, take calculated risks, and learn quickly. We use AI regularly to create leverage in every discipline across the company. We work in-person at our Broomfield, CO HQ to maximize team and company productivity. We work hard and with urgency to compound our first-mover advantage.

Builders who want to own outcomes, not tasks. Systems thinkers who balance precision with iteration while thinking about the big picture. Individuals who are energized by creating a category rather than competing in an existing one. You'll join a team that has already proven what others said wasn’t feasible and is now scaling and upgrading our VLEO buses & payloads to serve mission sets across sensing, communications, and responsive operations.

What You'll Do:

• Serve as Albedo's technical authority for spacecraft manufacturing, establishing processes, standards, and best practices across our spacecraft buses, payloads, and common hardware.
• Own the development and execution of manufacturing engineering strategies, including process development, tooling, work instructions, and production readiness.
• Partner closely with design engineering to influence hardware designs, improve manufacturability, and proactively resolve technical challenges before they impact production.
• Lead new product introduction (NPI), transitioning hardware from engineering development into repeatable, scalable production.
• Work directly alongside production technicians to troubleshoot complex build issues, resolve nonconformance, and drive corrective actions.
• Establish and improve manufacturing systems and workflows, including mBOMs, work instructions, and digital traceability within our MES systems.
• Identify and lead opportunities to improve manufacturing quality, efficiency, cost, and scalability, balancing immediate production needs with longer-term objectives.
• Help define manufacturing capabilities, equipment, tooling, and infrastructure required to support Albedo's growing production demands.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship across engineering and production, driving cross-functional alignment and raising the technical capabilities of the broader team.

Your Ideal Skills And Experience:

• 8-10+ years of experience in manufacturing engineering, production engineering, or related roles supporting complex hardware, preferably in aerospace or other high-reliability industries.
• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Industrial, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading manufacturing engineering initiatives and establishing processes that improve production quality, efficiency, and scalability.
• Strong hands-on experience with precision mechanical assembly, electromechanical integration, and manufacturing techniques such as fastening, bonding, and harnessing.
• Experience transitioning complex hardware from prototype or development builds into repeatable production.
• Strong understanding of DFM/DFA, tooling development, manufacturing process controls, and continuous improvement.
• Familiarity with CAD, PLM, MES, and configuration management systems.
• Proven ability to independently define technical direction, anticipate manufacturing challenges, and drive complex, cross-functional projects to completion.
• Demonstrated ability to influence technical decisions, mentor engineers and technicians, and build consensus across teams.
• Comfortable working hands-on in a fast-paced environment while balancing near-term execution with long-term manufacturing strategy.
• This role is located on-site at our Broomfield, CO office.

Salary Range:

• $169,436 - $192,675 per year

Compensation And Benefits For Full-Time Roles:

• Employee friendly equity compensation
• 4% direct matching 401k
• Health Insurance: 100% employee coverage & 75% dependent coverage
• Parental leave and childcare coverage
• Flexible vacation and sick time from day one
• 12 company holidays
• $100 monthly wellness benefit
• Relocation package if not based in Denver

The final compensation package is subject to change if the candidate's experience and company need drive a different job level than originally slated for the position. Albedo does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to Albedo employees. Albedo is not responsible for any fees or overhead related to unsolicited resumes.

We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to support and enhance our recruitment process. This includes recording, transcribing, analyzing, and evaluating your interview responses to ensure accurate, consistent, and efficient assessment of job-related skills, knowledge, and abilities. While AI tools may assist in this process, our human recruiting and hiring teams make all hiring decisions. For questions about AI use in interviews, data handling, or to request accommodations, contact [e-mail]

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired must verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire. All persons hired will be required to be a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., or a protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

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

Relocation support for this position is available Applicants must be a U.S. Person as defined under 22 CFR 120.62 #LI-Onsite Research shows that while men apply to jobs where they meet an average of 60% of the criteria, women and other underrepresented people tend to only apply when they meet 100% of the qualifications. At Albedo, we'd rather hear from you. We care more about how you think than which boxes you check. We value people who do the math, make their assumptions explicit, and ask the annoying questions: what breaks, what's the failure mode, what has to be true for this to work?