Manufacturing Engineer – Composite Motor Cases

Castelion; Torrance (CA); On-site; USD 95,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

Castelion is seeking a Manufacturing Engineer – Composite Motor Cases in Torrance, CA to own the development, industrialization, and production of manufacturing processes for advanced composite rocket motor cases.

You'll work closely with Filament Winding, Design, Materials, Quality, Propulsion, and Production teams to translate development into repeatable production, optimize tooling, and ensure manufacturability.

Qualifications

• B.S. in Mechanical, Aerospace, Manufacturing, Materials Engineering, or related field.
• Experience in manufacturing engineering or production of complex hardware.
• Experience developing and improving manufacturing processes.
• Ability to develop tooling, work instructions, and process controls.
• Demonstrated ability to solve manufacturing problems in a hands-on production environment.

Responsibilities

• Own manufacturing processes within the composite motor-case production flow.
• Develop and optimize bonding, cure, integration, and assembly processes.
• Develop tooling, fixtures, routings, and process controls.
• Support insulation, rubber, adhesives, and material systems.
• Integrate filament-wound structures into motor-case assemblies.
• Lead process qualification and production-readiness activities.
• Collaborate with Filament-Winding, Design, and Materials teams.
• Work with Quality to set inspection requirements.
• Lead root-cause investigations and resolve issues.
• Develop capacity and production scaling plans.
• Support supplier development and outsourced manufacturing.
• Provide hands-on support to technicians during builds.

Education

B.S. in Mechanical Engineering

Job description

Why Castelion, Why Now

Castelion is moving incredibly fast to develop and deliver advanced defense systems at a time when execution matters more than ever. We believe focus, ownership, and excellence are decisive advantages - and we're building a world-class team to turn bold ideas into real capability.

Why Castelion, Why Now

Castelion is moving incredibly fast to develop and deliver advanced defense systems at a time when execution matters more than ever. We believe focus, ownership, and excellence are decisive advantages - and we're building a world-class team to turn bold ideas into real capability. This is a rare opportunity to join at an early stage, where you'll have significant ownership, collaborate with exceptional teammates, and make a direct, measurable impact on our mission and the future of the company - regardless of your function.

Manufacturing Engineer – Composite Motor Cases

About The Role

The Manufacturing Engineer – Composite Motor Cases will own the development, industrialization, and production of manufacturing processes used to build advanced composite solid rocket motor cases.

This is a highly hands-on role supporting the transformation of filament-wound composite structures and associated components into completed motor-case assemblies. Depending on experience and program needs, engineers in this role may own processes including insulation and rubber application, bonding, cure, hardware integration, assembly, tooling, or other composite motor-case manufacturing operations.

You will work closely with Filament Winding, Design, Materials, Quality, Propulsion, and Production teams to develop robust manufacturing processes and transition hardware from development into repeatable production.

Outcomes

• Establish robust and repeatable manufacturing processes for composite motor cases.
• Develop qualified tooling, manufacturing methods, and process controls for assigned motor-case operations.
• Transition composite motor-case manufacturing processes from development into stable production.
• Improve manufacturing capability, quality, cycle time, and scalability as production demand increases.

Responsibilities

• Own manufacturing processes within the composite motor-case production flow.
• Develop and optimize bonding, cure, integration, assembly, and material application processes.
• Develop tooling, fixtures, work instructions, routings, and process controls.
• Support insulation, rubber, adhesives, and other material systems used in composite motor-case manufacturing.
• Integrate filament-wound structures and associated hardware into completed motor-case assemblies.
• Lead process qualification and production-readiness activities.
• Partner with Filament-Winding, Design, and Materials Engineering to ensure manufacturability and robust processing.
• Partner with Quality to establish inspection requirements and process controls.
• Lead root‑cause investigations and resolve manufacturing issues.
• Develop capacity and production scaling plans for assigned processes.
• Support supplier development and outsourced manufacturing as needed.
• Provide hands‑on support to technicians during development and production builds.

Basic Qualifications

• B.S. in Mechanical, Aerospace, Manufacturing, Materials Engineering, or related field.
• Experience in manufacturing engineering or production of complex hardware.
• Experience developing and improving manufacturing processes.
• Ability to develop tooling, work instructions, and process controls.
• Demonstrated ability to solve manufacturing problems in a hands‑on production environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with composite structures, aerospace, defense, or propulsion manufacturing.
• Experience with bonded assemblies, adhesives, rubber, insulation, cure, or structural integration.
• Experience taking composite hardware or manufacturing processes from development into production.
• Experience with manufacturing tooling, process qualification, or production scaling.
• Experience working across multidisciplinary engineering and production teams.

Castelion offers a generous benefits package. Please refer to the bottom of our Careers page for more details.

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Additional Eligibility Requirements

This position may require access to classified information or restricted U.S. Government sites, systems, or information, as determined by the Company and/or applicable U.S. Government requirements. If the position is so designated, your employment in the role may be contingent upon your ability to obtain and maintain the required U.S. Government security clearance or other government authorization, and to satisfy any citizenship or other eligibility requirements imposed by applicable law, regulation, executive order, or government contract requirements. You will be notified if and when such requirements apply.

Affirmative Action/EEO Statement

Castelion is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Castelion is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities throughout the application and hiring process. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete an application, participate in the interview process, or otherwise participate in the hiring process, please contact [e-mail]. Requests for accommodation will be considered on an individual basis and handled in accordance with applicable law.

Castelion is committed to fostering a workplace where employment decisions are based on qualifications, business needs, and the ability to perform the essential functions of the role, with or without reasonable accommodation.

EAR/ITAR Requirements

This position requires access to export-controlled information, and as such, employment (or hiring of a contractor) is contingent upon the candidate’s ability to access all applicable export-controlled information without additional export licensing being required by the Bureau of Industry and Security and/or the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls.