Production Manager, Structures Fabrication and Machining

Relativity Space, Inc.; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 142,000 - 212,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity compensation

Generous PTO

Parental leave

Learning stipend

Sick leave

Job summary

Relativity Space, Inc. in Long Beach, CA, is seeking a Production Manager, Structures Fabrication and Machining to lead a diverse team across two shifts, delivering large structures assemblies for Terran-R, including machining, forming, friction stir welding, drill & trim, and assembly.

You will define strategy to scale from development to high-volume production, build data-backed tools and reports, mentor staff, and partner with cross-functional teams to ensure safety, quality, and schedule

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in a technical or operations role, preferably Aerospace, automotive or similar.
• 3+ years of experience formally leading or managing a Production team
• Highly collaborative, strong communication skills, and ability to navigate diverse backgrounds (engineering, technician, executive, etc.)
• Relentless pursuit of production excellence—safety, quality, and schedule at forefront
• Comfortable with constructive conflict and difficult conversations, so long as it moves the business forward
• High degree of self-awareness and self-starting abilities; able to influence others in and outside of your organization

Responsibilities

• Accountable for leading and managing a diversely skilled production organization across 2 shifts to build Terran-R
• Ensure a culture of safety, quality, and excellence is communicated and upheld by driving quality metrics to continuously improve product output of the manufacturing team
• Defining the strategy to transition team from low-volume development environment to high-volume production environment on short time-frame; responsible for communicating a clear, actionable plan to set team up for success
• Standing up a scalable production program. Building the necessary tools, schedules, reports, and reviews to ensure a data-backed story on Terran-R’s hardware health is presented and understood by the cross-disciplinary team and leadership
• Developing and mentoring production staff to meet team and company goals

Skills

Team leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Safety culture

Process improvement

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Tools

Smartsheet

SQL

Excel

PLM

ERP

MES

Job description

Production Manager, Structures Fabrication and Machining

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 Stage Manufacturing team turns design into reality, owning the build of Terran R’s primary structures. This isn’t about turning the same bolt every day; it’s about building the systems to build the rocket. Engineers and technicians work side by side, with deep collaboration and real-time feedback, to shape how we build better and faster. With a manifest and a launch date, it’s up to the team to deliver on Terran R: solving challenges in real time, optimizing for scale, and constantly improving processes. As the vehicle evolves, so will the factory, with opportunities to apply automation, machine learning, and advanced technologies. What we build here sets the blueprint for the future of scaled launch.

About the Role:

As the Production Manager, Structures Fabrication and Machining, you will lead technician team delivering large structures assemblies, ready for final assembly or circumferential welds. This scope spans multiple processes including machining, forming, friction stir welding, drill & trim, and assembly. Your reporting structure will include multiple supervisors (1st and 2nd shift) covering discrete work cells. Key responsibilities will include:

• Accountable for leading and managing a diversely skilled production organization across 2 shifts to build Terran-R
• Ensure a culture of safety, quality, and excellence is communicated and upheld by driving quality metrics to continuously improve product output of the manufacturing team
• Defining the strategy to transition team from low-volume development environment to high-volume production environment on short time-frame; responsible for communicating a clear, actionable plan to set team up for success
• Standing up a scalable production program. Building the necessary tools, schedules, reports, and reviews to ensure a data-backed story on Terran-R’s hardware health is presented and understood by the cross-disciplinary team and leadership
• Developing and mentoring production staff to meet team and company goals

About You:

• 5+ years of experience in a technical or operations role, preferably Aerospace, automotive or similar
• 3+ years of experience formally leading or managing a Production team
• Highly collaborative, strong communication skills, and ability to navigate diverse backgrounds (engineering, technician, executive, etc.)
• Relentless pursuit of production excellence—safety, quality, and schedule at forefront
• Comfortable with constructive conflict and difficult conversations, so long as it moves the business forward
• High degree of self-awareness and self-starting abilities; able to influence others in and outside of your organization

Nice to haves but not required:

• Bachelors Degree in Engineering
• Previous experience leading leaders
• Knowledge of Smartsheet, SQL, and Excel
• Extensive Production scaling experience (i.e., hiring 10’s to 100’s over short time-frames)
• Expert experience in PLM, ERP, and MES systems
• Direct experience in NPI-to-Production environments
• LEAN 6-sigma credentials or demonstrated experience

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:

$141,600 - $212,400 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.