Staff Build Reliability Engineer, Clean Line

Relativity; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Relativity Space is seeking a senior process engineer to own precision cleaning, contamination control, and associated special processes across manufacturing. You will define specs, establish controls, and drive improvements from early development to vehicle integration.

You’ll mentor engineers and collaborate across propulsion, manufacturing, and quality teams to ensure hardware reliability. The role emphasizes leadership, technical rigor, and hands-on problem solving in a fast-paced aerospace

Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive process engineering in aerospace or high-reliability manufacturing.
• Experience developing, owning, or scaling precision cleaning and contamination control.
• Strong background in process qualification, validation, and inspection methods.

Responsibilities

• Serve as company-wide technical authority for precision cleaning and related special processes.
• Establish and own the special process control framework across production stages.
• Lead development and scaling of precision clean-line capabilities from development to rate production.
• Define engineering specs, cleanliness criteria, inspection methods, and training standards.
• Drive root cause investigations, corrective actions, and risk reduction across teams.
• Act as senior technical leader influencing decisions and mentoring engineers.

Skills

8+ years process engineering

Aerospace manufacturing

Special processes

Statistical process control

Root cause investigations

Quality controls across hardware

Education

Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or Mechanical Engineering

MS/PhD in Chemical Engineering or Materials Science (Nice to have)

Tools

IEST-STD-CC1246

Job description

At Relativity Space, we're building rockets to serve today's needs and tomorrow's breakthroughs. Our Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. But that's just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the known.

Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Here, you're not just executing tasks; you're solving problems that haven't been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. Whether you're in propulsion, manufacturing, software, avionics, or a corporate function, you'll collaborate across teams, shape decisions, and see your work come to life in record time. Relativity is a place where creativity and technical rigor go hand in hand, and your voice will help define the stories we're writing together. Now is a unique moment in time where it's early enough to leave your mark on the product, the process, and the culture, but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The most meaningful work of your career is waiting. Join us.

About the Role

• Serve as the company-wide technical authority for precision cleaning, fluid system cleanliness, contamination control, passivation, and associated special processes, establishing the standards and technical strategy necessary to ensure hardware quality and reliability from piece-part manufacturing through vehicle integration, testing, and launch.
• Establish and own the special process control framework, including process qualification, equipment validation, statistical process control, inspection requirements, auditing, and governance to ensure consistent execution and compliance with hardware cleanliness requirements across all stages of production.
• Lead the development, industrialization, and scaling of precision clean-line capabilities from early development through rate production, making critical decisions around process architecture, equipment selection, make-versus-buy strategy, factory integration, and production readiness.
• Define company-wide engineering specifications, cleanliness acceptance criteria, inspection methods, and technician training and certification standards to ensure contamination control and hardware quality are maintained throughout manufacturing, assembly, integration, testing, and launch operations.
• Drive resolution of complex cleanliness, contamination, and special-process challenges, leading root cause investigations, corrective actions, and technical risk reduction efforts across Design, Manufacturing, Integration, Test, Quality, and Production teams to prevent defects and protect flight hardware reliability.
• Act as a senior technical leader across the organization, influencing engineering and manufacturing decisions, identifying and mitigating build reliability risks, and mentoring engineers and technicians to ensure consistent execution of cleanliness and quality standards throughout the vehicle lifecycle.

About You

• Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical discipline, with 8+ years of progressive process engineering experience in aerospace, high-reliability manufacturing, or a similarly complex production environment.
• 5+ years of direct experience developing, owning, or scaling precision cleaning, fluid system cleaning, clean-line, contamination control, or comparable aerospace special processes.
• Deep expertise in special process control, including process qualification, validation, contamination prevention, statistical process control, inspection methodology, process capability, and continuous improvement.
• Demonstrated experience establishing and enforcing technical standards, cleanliness requirements, and quality controls across multiple stages of hardware manufacturing, assembly, integration, and testing.
• Proven ability to independently resolve complex, cross-functional technical challenges, lead failure investigations, identify systemic quality risks, and implement corrective actions that improve hardware reliability and manufacturing consistency.
• Strong technical leadership and communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to influence engineering and manufacturing decisions, establish accountability across teams, and challenge processes or decisions when necessary to protect hardware quality and mission success.

Nice to Haves

• M.S. or Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or a related technical discipline.
• Experience establishing precision cleaning, contamination control, or special-process capabilities for propulsion systems, fluid systems, or flight hardware.
• Familiarity with IEST-STD-CC1246 or other aerospace cleanliness, contamination control, and quality standards.
• Experience developing and implementin