Senior Manufacturing Design Engineer – eVTOL Production

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

Job summary

Archer Aviation, based in San Jose, CA, is scaling production of its eVTOL aircraft. This role sits in Manufacturing Design Engineering, unifying methods and standards across the organization to bridge aircraft design and production.

You will develop standardized manufacturing frameworks, lead facility and tooling standards, and drive continuous improvement with cross-functional teams including Design, Quality, Facilities, and Certification. Strong communication and FAA awareness are essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or advanced degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Manufacturing Engineering or related field.
• 8+ years experience in aerospace manufacturing engineering or similar 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/programs.
• Strong systems thinking and clear documentation of complex operations.
• Excellent communication and collaboration, with influence without authority.
• Familiarity with FAA certification considerations and impact on manufacturing processes.

Responsibilities

• Develop, document, and maintain standardized manufacturing engineering methods and best practices across the MDE 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 and integration into manufacturing plans.
• Develop standardized approaches for test and functional test equipment aligned with build sequencing, quality, and certification requirements.
• Partner with MDE, Industrialization, Quality, Facilities, and Operations to ensure standards are practical, scalable, and aligned with execution realities.
• Support governance of standards adoption, identify gaps through build feedback, and drive continuous improvement.

Skills

Aerospace manufacturing engineering

Manufacturing planning

Process definition

Work instructions

Tooling

Production support

Documentation

Communication & collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s or higher in Mechanical, Aerospace, Manufacturing Engineering

Tools

NX

Teamcenter

SAP

Job description

Archer Aviation, based in San Jose, CA, is scaling production of its eVTOL aircraft. This role sits in Manufacturing Design Engineering, unifying methods and standards across the organization to bridge aircraft design and production.

You will develop standardized manufacturing frameworks, lead facility and tooling standards, and drive continuous improvement with cross-functional teams including Design, Quality, Facilities, and Certification. Strong communication and FAA awareness are essential.