Solar Array Manufacturing Engineer — Scale Space-Grade Production

Apex; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Shared equity

Company-paid healthcare

Generous PTO and holidays

401(k) with match

Parental leave and childcare support

Daily catered lunch and snacks

Office in Playa Vista

Job summary

Apex is seeking a Solar Array Manufacturing Development Engineer to lead production-capability development for spacecraft solar arrays in Playa Vista, CA. You will collaborate with design, technicians, and leadership to create tooling, optimize assembly methods, and improve yield.

You will drive process controls, documentation, and inspection standards while expanding manufacturing readiness and capacity on critical electromechanical assemblies.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a related technical field.
• 3+ years in manufacturing engineering, process development, or hardware production.
• Experience developing and improving manufacturing processes for complex electromechanical assemblies.
• Hands-on experience with assembly tooling, fixtures, manufacturing equipment, and production troubleshooting.
• Understanding of manufacturing process validation, quality control, and production documentation.
• Experience collaborating with design engineering and production teams to transition hardware into manufacturing.

Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, and optimize manufacturing processes for spacecraft solar array assemblies and subassemblies.
• Support solar cell integration, stringing, interconnects, bonding, layup, and panel assembly processes.
• Own manufacturing process development from prototype builds through production ramp.
• Design and implement production tooling, assembly fixtures, and manufacturing equipment.
• Develop standardized work instructions, process specifications, and inspection procedures.
• Collaborate with design engineering to improve solar array manufacturability, reliability, and assembly efficiency.
• Identify and resolve production challenges related to bonding, electrical connections, materials, and mechanical integration.
• Develop process controls and quality verification methods to ensure consistent hardware performance.
• Support electrical, mechanical, and environmental testing of solar array assemblies.
• Drive improvements in manufacturing cycle time, first-pass yield, production capacity, and overall process reliability.
• Support production line layout, equipment selection, workflow optimization, and manufacturing readiness.

Skills

Manufacturing engineering

Process development

Hands-on troubleshooting

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

Assembly tooling

Fixtures

Manufacturing equipment

Job description

Apex is seeking a Solar Array Manufacturing Development Engineer to lead production-capability development for spacecraft solar arrays in Playa Vista, CA. You will collaborate with design, technicians, and leadership to create tooling, optimize assembly methods, and improve yield.

You will drive process controls, documentation, and inspection standards while expanding manufacturing readiness and capacity on critical electromechanical assemblies.