Senior/Principal Design Reliability Engineer

amca llc; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 225,000; Full time

Job summary

amca llc, located in El Segundo, California, is seeking an experienced engineer to play a crucial role in developing aerospace components. The ideal candidate will lead design conversations and ensure compliance with standards while mentoring a team of engineers.

This position requires substantial experience in mechanical or electrical engineering, particularly in defense hardware. The position offers a competitive salary between $150,000 and $225,000, and is subject to ITAR regulations, requiring U.S. citizenship.

Qualifications

• Substantial experience in mechanical or electrical engineering.
• Deep technical expertise in at least one mechanical or electrical discipline.
• Hands-on and lab-comfortable.

Responsibilities

• Create a standard process for digesting and tracking all customer requirements.
• Lead conversations with customers regarding requirements.
• Provide feedback during the product development process.

Skills

Mechanical Engineering

Electrical Engineering

Hands-on experience

Analysis tools familiarity

Education

Degree in engineering related to aerospace or defense

Job description

Overview

Amca is building America’s new industrial base. Since the 1990s, our ability to build new aviation and military systems and maintain the ones we already have has eroded. Today, the gap between what the nation needs to produce and what it is capable of producing is the largest it has been in generations.

To help close that gap, Amca rapidly develops and manufactures new critical components and subsystems required to build and sustain the planes, military vehicles, and core infrastructure America needs. Today, we operate seven factories nationwide, including our advanced prototyping and testing headquarters in El Segundo, and deliver avionics, hydraulic, and electrical components for platforms such as the F-35, F-16, F/A-18, 737MAX, 787, A320neo, A321, Mk-48, and M1 Abrams.

Responsibilities

• Create a standard process for digesting and tracking all customer requirements.
• Lead conversations with customers in relation to requirements and challenge requirements where appropriate.
• Work closely and help lead design engineers with their product development by providing feedback that both mitigates risk and allows them to move as quickly as possible.
• Attend and review all design reviews. Provide feedback throughout the design review process. Track design review actions and ensure they are closed out.
• Own CAD release process. Set approval structure, enforce approvers, and maintain system. This may require some level of high level software ownership of applications like Teamcenter/NX/Altium. You will have access to a software team if specific tasks pop up.
• Create Amca design guide.
• Set standards for what types of components Amca should use in its design.
• Set analysis standards.
• Create specific hardware design guides from lessons learned from design engineers.
• Electromechanical.
• Hydraulics.
• Avionics.
• Set standards for hardware qualification. Leverage military standards and previous experience to challenge requirements and ensure we are getting the most value out of our testing. Ensure we are testing in the most flight-like manner possible.
• When failures occur in qualification, assist with root cause identification and corrective action (primarily in relation to design misses).
• Assist with defining our configuration management process.
• This will be a more hands‑on role than a standard design reliability role. You will be expected to help out your fellow design engineers and potentially even support some design projects when necessary.
• Serve as an overall technical mentor for the entire Amca engineering team.
• Assist with identifying design gaps within Amca’s factories to help identify high risk areas.
• Collaborate closely with mechanical, electrical, software, and build engineering to ensure all parties are adhering to the same design standards.

Qualifications

• Substantial experience in mechanical or electrical engineering for aerospace or defense hardware, with a strong track record taking products from concept through flight qualification and into production.
• Deep technical expertise in at least one mechanical or electrical discipline — mechanical such as fluid systems (pneumatic or hydraulic), mechanisms, structural design, cockpit avionics packaging, or power electronics enclosures— electrical such as flight controls, power electronics, sensors, PCB/PCBA design, or RF –with working fluency across adjacent areas.
• Hands‑on and lab‑comfortable.
• Strong command of engineering first principles across mechanics or electronics; proven ability to simplify requirements and cut complexity.
• Familiarity and experience with common analysis tools such as hand calcs, FEA, and other simulations.
• Familiarity with MIL‑STD‑810, DO‑160, and other aerospace qualification frameworks.
• Independent, direct, and action‑oriented; takes full ownership and thrives with minimal oversight.
• Nascent leadership instincts — comfortable informally guiding peers and ready to grow into broader responsibility over time.

Annual Salary Range: $150,000 — $225,000 USD

This position requires use of information which is subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). All applicants must be U.S. persons within the meaning of ITAR. ITAR defines a US person as: any individual who is granted U.S. citizenship; or any individual who is granted U.S. permanent residence (\"Green Card\" holder); or any individual who is granted status as a \"protected person\" under 8 U.S.C 1324b(a)(3).

The Advanced Manufacturing Company of America prohibits discrimination or harassment based on the following categories: race, color, religion, religious creed (including religious dress and grooming practices), national origin, ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition (including cancer and genetic characteristics), genetic information, marital status, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), gender, gender identity, gender expression, age (40 years and over), sexual orientation, veteran and/or military status, protected medical leaves (requesting or approved for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act or the California Family Rights Act), domestic violence victim status, political affiliation, and any other status protected by state or federal law.