Senior Mechanical SDE – NPI/PPAP + Equity

Rocket Lab USA; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 102,000 - 172,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity grant

Employee Stock Purchase Program

Medical plans

Dental and vision coverage

Paid vacation and sick time

HSAs with company contribution

401(k) with company match

Onsite fitness centers

Discounts on company merch

Job summary

Rocket Lab USA seeks a Senior Supplier Development Engineer I/II (Mechanical) to own the supplier base for mechanical hardware, drive end-to-end industrialization, and enable at-rate production. You will collaborate with procurement, engineering, and quality to qualify suppliers, conduct DFMs, and manage PPAP processes.

The role requires hands-on supplier leadership, cross-functional teamwork, and deep knowledge of APQP/PPAP, PFMEA, and GD&T.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, or Manufacturing Engineering, or a closely related technical discipline.
• Experience with APQP, PPAP, PFMEA, control plans, MSA, and CPk/Ppk.
• Experience conducting DFM reviews and translating design intent into manufacturing and quality requirements.
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, GD&T (ASME Y14.5), and 3D CAD models.
• Minimum 5 years' experience working in a regulated industry Aerospace, Medical, Automotive, Industrial, or similar.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end supplier industrialization for mechanical hardware from source selection and process qualification through NPI, PPAP, and rate production ramp.
• Partner with procurement and engineering to identify, evaluate, and select suppliers based on process capability, quality systems, and capacity across CNC machining, EDM, grinding, additive manufacturing, welding and electro‑mechanical assemblies.
• Conduct supplier capability assessments during qualification phases, evaluating tooling maturity, measurement systems, process controls, and workforce qualification against program requirements.
• Lead Design for Manufacturability (DFM) reviews with design engineering at the earliest program stage, providing actionable feedback on feature complexity, datum schemes, tolerance stack-ups, and design characteristics that drive cost or quality risk.
• Own the APQP process at suppliers, driving completion of all quality planning deliverables - process flow, PFMEA, control plan, MSA/GR&R, and dimensional results - on schedule and to the required standard.
• Drive the PPAP program as a production readiness gate; define required submission levels, disposition supplier packages, and ensure process capability (Cpk) is demonstrated on critical and significant characteristics to enable at rate production.
• Lead First Article Inspection (FAI) activities at suppliers and in coordination with internal quality teams; ensure all findings are resolved to closure within project timelines.
• Identify systemic performance gaps; own supplier improvement plans and drive measurable progress against quality, cost, delivery, and capacity targets.
• Lead root cause and corrective action (RCCA) for supplier quality issues and escapes, applying structured problem‑solving methods (8D, 5-Why) and validating that corrective actions are robust and sustained across all applicable parts and production lines.
• Apply lean manufacturing and statistical quality tools - including SPC, Cpk trending, and process audits – to drive continuous improvement across the mechanical supply base and eliminate sources of recurring defect.

Skills

Regulated industry exposure

Reading engineering drawings

Design for Manufacturability knowledge

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, or Manufacturing Engineering

Tools

APQP/PPAP

PFMEA / control plans / MSA / CPk

3D CAD

Job description

Rocket Lab USA seeks a Senior Supplier Development Engineer I/II (Mechanical) to own the supplier base for mechanical hardware, drive end-to-end industrialization, and enable at-rate production. You will collaborate with procurement, engineering, and quality to qualify suppliers, conduct DFMs, and manage PPAP processes.

The role requires hands-on supplier leadership, cross-functional teamwork, and deep knowledge of APQP/PPAP, PFMEA, and GD&T.