Senior Supplier Development Engineer

Relativity Space; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 154,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary and equity

Generous PTO and sick leave policy

Annual learning and development stipend

Job summary

A leading aerospace company in Long Beach is seeking a Supplier Quality Engineer to serve as a technical point of contact and lead new product introductions. Candidates should have over 8 years of experience, with a strong background in AS9100 and ISO 9001 standards as well as proficiency in problem-solving methodologies. The role offers competitive compensation, including salary and equity, along with a generous benefits package.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in supplier quality or development engineering.
• Strong knowledge of AS9100, ISO 9001, NASA quality standards.
• Experience with Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) and Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP).

Responsibilities

• Serve as the technical point of contact for rocket parts.
• Lead new product introduction and select manufacturing methods.
• Conduct design for manufacturing reviews and apply APQP principles.

Skills

Supplier quality engineering

Manufacturing processes

Problem solving

Data analysis

Job description

About the Team

About the Team: The Quality team is focused on embedding quality into every part of the design and production process for Terran R. Not just inspecting at the end but influencing how things are built from the start. The team embeds themselves directly within design, manufacturing, test, and launch teams to stay close to the hardware, understand constraints, and proactively shape decisions. As we move beyond initial development into production and then scaled operations, now is the time to put the right processes, controls, and inspections in place without slowing down progress. The team plays a key role in balancing risk, driving a culture of ownership, and ensuring that speed doesn’t come at the cost of reliability. Success here means building a quality system that scales with the Terran R program and Relativity as a whole.

About the Role

• Serve as the technical point of contact for rocket parts and assemblies, resolving manufacturing and quality issues to protect production schedules.
• Lead new product introduction by selecting manufacturing methods, identifying suppliers, and developing scalable processes.
• Conduct design for manufacturing (DFM) reviews and apply APQP principles to ensure efficient, high-quality production from early development stages. Leverage experience with Production Part Approval Process (PPAP), First Article Inspection Reports (FAIRs), and 8D problem solving.
• Manage supplier sourcing and evaluations, issue corrective actions, and ensure compliance with AS9100, ISO 9001, and NASA quality standards.
• Create and develop specifications to communicate quality and manufacturing requirements across the supply base.
• Analyze defect data, lead root cause investigations (e.g., 8D, PPAP, FAIR), and implement corrective actions to improve supplier performance.

About You

• You have 8+ years of experience in supplier quality or supplier development engineering, with in-depth knowledge of industry standards like AS9100, ISO 9001, and NASA quality standards and ERP/MRP system experience.
• You have a strong technical and experiential knowledge of manufacturing processes for space-quality hardware, including forming, cutting, machining, and assembly of various metals like stainless and carbon steels.
• You have experience with supplier quality processes such as Production Part Approval Process (PPAP), Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP), and First Article Inspection Reports (FAIRs) with a disciplined approach to problem solving, such as 8D methodology.
• You have experience with New Product Development and PPAP implementation.
• You are a self-starter who can define and own a process from scratch and roll it out to a diverse team, with willingness to travel up to 50% of the work week when needed.

Nice to have but not required

• Familiarity with high-volume inspection methods and data-driven acceptance methods
• Strong knowledge of enterprise applications (i.e., PLM, ERP, MES) and proficient in data analysis
• Self-starter that has demonstrated the ability to define and own a process from scratch and roll out that process through adept communication to a diverse team
• Experience with New Product Development and PPAP implementation

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 our benefits page.

Hiring Range: $120,000 — $154,000 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.