Manufacturing Engineer 1, Unpressurized Systems

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

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary and equity

PTO and sick leave

Parental leave

Learning & development stipend

Job summary

Relativity Space in Long Beach, CA is hiring a Manufacturing Engineer 1 for Unpressurized Systems to own major primary structures from first build through rate production. You’ll generate mBOMs, CONOPS, and build schedules while creating work instructions and standardizing processes across the team.

You’ll partner with design, manufacturing, and reliability groups, providing DFx feedback during prototypes and flight builds in a fast-paced aerospace environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in aeronautical, mechanical engineering, or related field.
• 1+ years of progressive and related manufacturing experience.
• Ability to interface with engineering and manufacturing to improve manufacturability.

Responsibilities

• Own a major primary structure assembly and its subassemblies from first build to rate production.
• Generate and maintain mBOM, CONOPS, and build schedule.
• Create work instructions, specifications, and best practices across high-fidelity processes.
• Help establish stations within the inaugural work cell and define tooling needs.
• Support shop floor with live issue resolution and drive process improvements.
• Provide DFx feedback to structures teams through prototype and flight builds.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Interface with engineering/manufactur

GD&T knowledge

Trade studies (first principles)

Team collaboration

Self-motivated

Education

Bachelor's degree in aeronautical or mechanical engineering

Tools

Machining processes

Aerospace tooling

Assembly tooling

FSDA experience

Job description

Manufacturing Engineer 1, Unpressurized Systems

Long Beach, California, United States

At Relativity Space, we’re building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Our Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. But that’s just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the 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. Now is a unique moment in time where it’s early enough to leave your mark on the product, the process, and the culture, but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The most meaningful 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. We offer competitive salary and equity, a generous PTO and sick leave policy, parental leave, an annual learning and development stipend, and more!

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.

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.