Manufacturing Engineer

Poseidon Aerospace; Alameda (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary and equity

Relocation assistance

Health benefits

Retirement matching

Flexible PTO

Free meals and snacks

AI tools

Job summary

Poseidon Aerospace is seeking a Manufacturing Engineer to design tooling, fixtures, and jigs for aircraft assembly. You will program CAM workflows, machine parts on vertical mills, and rapidly prototype tooling solutions to support evolving designs.

You will collaborate with design engineers, perform first article inspections, and document procedures to ensure tooling quality and manufacturability on cutting-edge autonomous cargo aircraft programs.

Qualifications

• Experience CAD design of tooling, fixtures and jigs.
• Hands-on CAM programming and CNC machining experience.
• Understand GD&T and apply tolerancing to tooling designs.
• Knowledge of composite tooling requirements (layup surfaces, cure tooling, trim fixtures).
• Experience with metrology equipment and inspection techniques.
• Understanding of design for manufacturing principles for composites (layup, bonding, trimming, drilling).
• Self-directed problem solver capable of working independently in a fast-moving team.
• Ability to balance speed with precision and know when tight tolerances are needed.

Responsibilities

• Design and deliver tooling, jigs, and fixtures for aircraft assembly and fabrication processes.
• Program and machine custom tooling components using CAM software and CNC equipment.
• Rapidly prototype manufacturing solutions to support evolving aircraft designs and assembly sequences.
• Conduct first article inspections and dimensional validation of tooling to ensure design intent is met.
• Collaborate with design engineers to provide DFM feedback and influence part designs for manufacturability.
• Develop and document assembly procedures, work instructions, and tooling usage guidelines.
• Troubleshoot and iterate on tooling designs based on real-world production feedback.
• Maintain and improve existing tooling as aircraft designs evolve through development cycles.

Skills

CAD proficiency

CAM programming

GD&T

Composite materials knowledge

Metrology

DFM feedback

Manufacturing processes (layup/bonding

Independent problem solving

Tolerance balance

Tools

Fusion 360

Kitamura machines

Gantry CNC routing

4th/5th axis CAM

Composite layup/trimming

Welding for fixtures

FDM tooling

Job description

About Poseidon Aerospace:

Poseidon Aerospace is reimagining how the world moves goods. We build and operate full-size autonomous cargo aircraft - capable of carrying two tons of payload over a thousand nautical miles. From remote communities to contested logistics operations, our platforms unlock a new cost curve for air freight, making it faster, cheaper, and accessible anywhere it’s needed. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area with locations in Washington DC, Oregon, and Maine; we’re building something consequential.

As a Manufacturing Engineer at Poseidon Aerospace, you will design and machine the tooling that brings our composite aircraft to life. You’ll own the complete process from CAD design through CAM programming to running parts on our mills and routers, delivering functional jigs and fixtures on startup timelines. We need someone who thinks with their hands and can rapidly translate design requirements into precision tooling.

Responsibilities:

• Design and deliver tooling, jigs, and fixtures for aircraft assembly and fabrication processes

• Program and machine custom tooling components using CAM software and CNC equipment

• Rapidly prototype manufacturing solutions to support evolving aircraft designs and assembly sequences

• Conduct first article inspections and dimensional validation of tooling to ensure design intent is met

• Collaborate with design engineers to provide DFM feedback and influence part designs for improved manufacturability

• Develop and document assembly procedures, work instructions, and tooling usage guidelines

• Troubleshoot and iterate on tooling designs based on real-world assembly feedback from the production floor

• Maintain and improve existing tooling as aircraft designs evolve through development cycles

Ideal Qualifications:

• Proficiency in CAD software (Fusion, SolidWorks, CATIA, NX, or similar) for designing tooling, fixtures, and jigs

• Hands‑on CAM programming experience and ability to machine own parts on vertical mills and multi-axis CNC equipment

• Strong understanding of GD&T and ability to apply proper tolerancing to tooling designs

• Knowledge of composite materials and their unique tooling requirements (layup surfaces, cure tooling, trim fixtures)

• Experience with metrology equipment (calipers, micrometers, height gauges) and inspection techniques

• Understanding of design for manufacturing principles and common composite manufacturing processes (layup, bonding, trimming, drilling)

• Self‑directed problem solver comfortable working independently while supporting a small, fast-moving team

• Ability to balance speed with precision—knowing when “good enough” is appropriate versus when tight tolerances are critical

Nice to have:

• Experience with Fusion 360 for integrated CAD/CAM workflow

• Hands‑on experience with Kitamura machines

• Gantry-style CNC router programming and operation

• Multi‑axis (4th/5th axis) CAM programming experience

• Hands‑on composite layup or composite trimming experience

• Welding experience for fixture fabrication

• Experience with FDM for rapid tooling prototypes

What you get from us

• Competitive salary and meaningful early-stage equity

• Relocation support if applicable

• Employee Health Benefit Plans

• 6% Retirement matching

• Flexible PTO

• Free lunches, snacks, and a stocked fridge at our offices

• AI tools and subscriptions