Manufacturing Engineer 1, Unpressurized Structures

Relativity Space; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 136,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary and equity

Generous PTO and sick leave

Parental leave

Learning and development stipend

Job summary

Relativity Space in Long Beach, CA, is building Terran R and expanding its manufacturing capabilities. The role focuses on owning a major primary structure assembly from first build to rate production, and collaborating across design, manufacturing, and reliability teams to drive manufacturability.

You will generate the mBOM, CONOPS, and build schedule; create work instructions and specs; support the shop floor with issue resolution and continuous process improvements; provide DFM feedback

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering is required.
• At least 1 year of progressive and related experience.
• Strong communication with engineering and manufacturing teams to improve manufacturability.
• Knowledge of primary vehicle structures, machining, assembly, and tooling; GD&T experience.
• Ability to perform trade studies using first principles.
• Ability to work in a collaborative, high-pressure environment.

Responsibilities

• Own a major primary structure assembly and its subassemblies from first build to rate production.
• Generate and maintain the mBOM, CONOPS, and build schedule through development.
• Create work instructions and specifications; standardize processes across the team.
• Help establish stations within the inaugural work cell, including tooling and equipment.
• Support shop floor with live issue resolution and drive process improvements.
• Provide DFM feedback to structure teams during prototype and flight builds.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Trade studies

Team collaboration

Self-motivation

GD&T knowledge

Machining knowledge

Manufacturing process understanding

Education

Bachelor’s degree in aeronautical, mechanical engineering, or other engineering discipline

Tools

Tooling design

Machining equipment

Fabrication tooling

Job description

At Relativity Space, we’re building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. OurTerran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launchcapacity. But that’s just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock newopportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyondthe known.

Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Here, you're not just executing tasks; you're solving problems that haven’t been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. Whether you’re in propulsion, manufacturing, software, avionics, or a corporate function, you’ll collaborate across teams, shape decisions, and see your work come to life in record time. Relativity is a place where creativity and technical rigor go hand in hand, and your voice will help define the stories we’re writing together. Nowis a unique moment in time where it’s early enough to leave your mark on the product, the process, andthe culture, but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The mostmeaningful work of your career is waiting. Join us.

About the team:

The Manufacturing team at Relativity Space is currently deep in manufacturing trades and process development for Terran R, our next generation, fully re-useable rocket. This team has a wide variety of responsibilities—from determining the most efficient factory floor layout, to developing and implementing complex tooling and processes, and even interfacing with the vehicle engineering team to heavily influence the design of the rocket. Unique to Relativity, you will get to work across many teams to iterate and support development of the vehicle program.

About the role:

• Own a major primary structure assembly and its child subassemblies (landing legs, grid fins, tank structures, thrust structure, interstage, payload adapters, or heatshield components) from first build into rate production
• Generate and maintain the mBOM, CONOPS, and build schedule throughout the development process
• Create work instructions, specifications, and best practices across multiple high-fidelity processes, and help standardize those processes across the manufacturing team
• Help establish the stations within the inaugural work cell, accounting for assembly operations, tooling and capital equipment requirements, and rate targets
• Support the shop floor through live issue resolution, and drive process improvements and lessons learned back into the production flow and into the next generation of manufacturing technology
• Provide Design for Manufacturing feedback to the structures teams through the first prototype and flight builds, working closely with design, manufacturing, and reliability engineers, internal production teams, external vendors, and Factory Development

About You:

• Bachelor’s degree in aeronautical, mechanical engineering, or other engineering discipline
• 1+ years progressive and related experience required
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to interface with engineering and manufacturing groups to understand process constraints and provide design inputs for improved manufacturability
• Working knowledge of primary vehicle structures, machining, assembly process, & tooling - Intermediate to Advanced knowledge of GD&T
• Ability to perform trade studies using first principles and engineering fundamentals
• Able to work well in an integrated collaborative team environment
• Highly self-motivated and able to prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment

Nice to Have:

• Experience transitioning products from prototype to mass production
• New product introduction of an aerospace hardware system into a manufacturing, test, and production system with proven success
• Experience in managing projects in a fast-paced environment
• Experience with critical lifting and tool design to support urgent operations
• Experience welding high temp alloys
• Experience with full size determinate assembly (FSDA)

At Relativity Space, we are committed to transparency and fairness in our compensation practices. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors.
Compensation is only one part of our total rewards package. Relativity Space offers competitive salary and equity, a generous PTO and sick leave policy, parental leave, an annual learning and development stipend, and more!To see some of the benefits & perks we offer, please visit here.

Hiring Range:

$90,000 — $136,000 USD

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

If you need a reasonable accommodation, please contact us at [e-mail].

Please note: Relativity Space does not accept unsolicited resumes, candidate profiles, or referrals from recruitment agencies or search firms. Any unsolicited submission - via email, our website, social media, or directly to an employee - will be deemed the property of Relativity Space, and no fee will be owed absent a current, fully executed agreement with Talent Acquisition that specifically authorizes submissions for the applicable role.