Lead Space Manufacturing Engineer – Separation Systems

Rocket Lab; Silver Spring (MD); On-site; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Top tier medical

Company-sponsored HSA

Dental and vision coverage

3 weeks paid vacation

7 days sick leave

11 paid holidays

Flexible spending accounts

Parental leave

Disability insurance

Life insurance

401(k) with company match

Stock purchase program

Free breakfast and lunch

Free snacks

Job summary

Rocket Lab is seeking a Lead, Manufacturing Engineer for its Silver Spring, Maryland site. You will lead a skilled team focused on turning innovative spaceflight concepts, especially separation systems, into manufacturable designs and scalable production lines.

You will drive feasibility studies, DFx for manufacturability, and continuous improvements while coordinating with cross-functional teams to ensure on-time delivery of high-performance spaceflight mechanisms.

Qualifications

• B.S. in Engineering is required.
• 5+ years of experience in Manufacturing, Production, or Process Engineering.
• Experience with DFMEA, PFMEA, Fault Tree Analysis, Pareto analysis, root cause and corrective actions.
• Proven ability to design, implement and support production lines.
• Track record leading teams to meet technical and operational goals.
• Familiarity with aerospace fabrication techniques, materials, and finishes.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of Manufacturing Engineers, providing mentorship and performance management.
• Conduct feasibility studies and R&D projects to enable advanced manufacturing technologies.
• Partner with Product Development to ensure DFx for manufacturability at scale.
• Design, procure, install, and validate production lines and factory systems for assembly, testing and verification.
• Own production lines to remove blockers, improve yield, and increase build efficiency.
• Triage and diagnose production issues; perform root cause analyses and corrective actions.
• Drive continuous improvements across manufacturing and testing operations.
• Support change management and risk assessment for design/process changes.
• Contribute to business system improvements to enhance efficiency.

Skills

Team leadership

Problem solving

DFMEA/PFMEA

Root cause analysis

Manufacturing optimization

Production line design

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

B.S. in Engineering

Job description

Rocket Lab is seeking a Lead, Manufacturing Engineer for its Silver Spring, Maryland site. You will lead a skilled team focused on turning innovative spaceflight concepts, especially separation systems, into manufacturable designs and scalable production lines.

You will drive feasibility studies, DFx for manufacturability, and continuous improvements while coordinating with cross-functional teams to ensure on-time delivery of high-performance spaceflight mechanisms.