Senior Aerospace Manufacturing Design Engineer

Archer; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 152,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Archer is an aerospace leader in Santa Clara, CA, scaling production of a cutting-edge eVTOL aircraft. The Manufacturing Design Engineering team ensures standardized methods across development, certification, and production, enabling rapid, safe manufacturing while maintaining strict regulatory alignment.

The role focuses on defining facility standards, tooling, and test equipment, and mentoring engineers to drive consistent execution across programs in a challenging, regulated environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or advanced degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Manufacturing Engineering or related field.
• 10+ years of experience in aerospace manufacturing engineering or a similarly complex, regulated environment.
• Hands-on experience with manufacturing planning, process definition, work instructions, tooling, and production support.
• Ability to define and implement standardized engineering methods across multiple teams or programs.
• Strong systems thinking and documentation skills with ability to translate complex operations into clear, repeatable standards.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with experience influencing without direct authority.
• Familiarity with FAA certification considerations and their impact on manufacturing processes.

Responsibilities

• Develop, document, and maintain standardized manufacturing engineering methods and best practices across the Manufacturing Design Engineering organization.
• Define common frameworks for manufacturing planning, process definition, work instruction structure, and build readiness across development, certification, and production phases.
• Lead the definition of facility planning standards, including space allocation, line layouts, material flow, aisleways, egress, and infrastructure requirements.
• Define and standardize tooling and ground support equipment (GSE) requirements, including classification, readiness criteria, and integration into manufacturing plans.
• Develop standardized approaches for test and functional test equipment, ensuring alignment with build sequencing, quality, and certification requirements.
• Partner with MDE functional teams, Industrialization, Quality, Facilities, and Operations to ensure standards are practical and scalable.
• Support governance of standards adoption, identify gaps through build feedback, and drive continuous improvement based on data and lessons learned.
• Act as a technical resource and mentor for MDE engineers, enabling consistent execution across programs and teams.

Skills

Manufacturing planning

Process definition

Work instructions

Tooling

Production support

Documentation

Cross-functional collaboration

FAA familiarity

Education

Mechanical Eng degree

Tools

NX

Teamcenter

SAP

Job description

Archer is an aerospace leader in Santa Clara, CA, scaling production of a cutting-edge eVTOL aircraft. The Manufacturing Design Engineering team ensures standardized methods across development, certification, and production, enabling rapid, safe manufacturing while maintaining strict regulatory alignment.

The role focuses on defining facility standards, tooling, and test equipment, and mentoring engineers to drive consistent execution across programs in a challenging, regulated environment.