Staff Manufacturing Engineer

Elbit America, Inc.; Charleston (SC); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

9/80 schedule

401(k)

Medical, dental, vision coverage

Life insurance

Paid vacation

Parental leave

Employee referral program

Voluntary benefits

Tricare supplement

Job summary

Elbit Systems of America in Charleston, SC, seeks a Staff Manufacturing Engineer to guide a new greenfield munitions facility from concept to full-rate production, overseeing AI&T lines for Class 3 UAVs and missile systems.

The role requires developing manufacturing processes, layouts, tooling, and test infrastructure, with emphasis on lean principles, safety, and cross-functional leadership across engineering, quality, supply chain, facilities, and program teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Manufacturing Engineering or related technical discipline.
• 14+ years of manufacturing engineering experience in aerospace/defense or complex manufacturing environments.
• Experience developing or improving assembly and production processes.
• Ability to operate across engineering, operations, quality, supply chain, facilities, and programs.

Responsibilities

• Lead greenfield facility and production line development for AIAT operations.
• Translate product requirements and rate needs into capacity and infrastructure requirements.
• Develop facility layouts, tooling, fixtures, and test infrastructure.
• Support equipment specification, sourcing, installation, and qualification.
• Drive lean manufacturing principles, visual management, and continuous improvement.
• Coordinate with cross-functional teams and leadership to ensure readiness and ramp.

Skills

Lean manufacturing

Cross-functional collaboration

Process development

Communication skills

Project management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Manufacturing Engineering

14+ years of manufacturing engineering experience

Tools

AS9100 knowledge

ERP systems

Job description

Summary of Responsibilities

The Staff Manufacturing Engineer at Elbit Systems of America will play a key role in establishing a new greenfield munitions facility, guiding its development from initial concepts through full-rate production. This role oversees technology transfer and leads the design, development, and launch of Assembly, Integration, and Test (AI&T) production lines for Class 3 UAVs and air to ground missile systems, including warhead integration.

The successful candidate will shape major elements of the facility and production system design, ensuring safe, efficient, and scalable operations. Responsibilities include creating and refining manufacturing processes, defining equipment and tooling needs, designing production layouts, and developing test infrastructure and operating systems that support both initial and high-rate production. Success in the role requires deep knowledge of relevant products and manufacturing methods to accelerate facility stand up while effectively applying lessons learned. The position collaborates closely with senior leadership across the division and the broader company.

Responsibilities and Tasks

• Greenfield Facility & Production Line Development
• Serve as the key Manufacturing Engineering lead for the establishment and startup of the new munitions manufacturing facility.
• Develop the overall manufacturing concept for assembly, integration, and test operations associated with dissimilar products
• Translate product requirements, production forecasts, and rate requirements into manufacturing capacity and infrastructure requirements.
• Develop production layouts incorporating material flow, work cells, inspection points, test operations, tooling, equipment, and support areas.
• Define requirements for manufacturing equipment, tooling, fixtures, test equipment, material-handling systems, and production infrastructure.
• Support equipment specification, sourcing, installation, commissioning, and production qualification.
• Participate in facility design reviews to ensure the building and infrastructure support manufacturing requirements.
• Develop manufacturing readiness plans and drive actions required to achieve initial production and subsequent rate increases.
• Assembly, Integration & Test
• Develop safe, repeatable, and efficient manufacturing processes for product assembly, integration, inspection, and test.
• Develop tooling and fixture concepts and coordinate their design, fabrication, qualification, and implementation.
• Define manufacturing inspection points, acceptance criteria, process controls, and verification requirements.
• Support prototype and first-article builds and transition products from engineering development into production.
• Drive process capability, repeatability, defect reduction, yield improvement, and cycle-time reduction.
• Production Readiness & Ramp
• Develop capacity models for labor, equipment, tooling, test assets, and floor space.
• Establish staffing assumptions, and production balancing.
• Identify production constraints and develop plans to eliminate bottlenecks before they impact rate.
• Support development of training and certification requirements for production personnel.
• Cross-Functional Leadership
• Work closely with Operations, Design Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Facilities, EHS, Security, Program Management, Configuration Management, and Test Engineering.
• Participate in design reviews, manufacturing readiness reviews, production readiness reviews, and configuration/change-control activities.
• Ensure engineering changes are effectively incorporated into manufacturing processes, tooling, work instructions, and production configuration.
• Communicate manufacturing readiness, risks, constraints, capital requirements, and recovery plans to site and division leadership.
• Serve as a technical manufacturing resource to leadership during facility startup and production ramp.
• Continuous Improvement
• Establish Lean manufacturing principles as part of the initial production system.
• Implement visual management, standard work, 5S, mistake-proofing, point-of-use material, and structured problem-solving methodologies.
• Use production data to identify opportunities for improvements in safety, quality, cost, schedule, and throughput.
• Develop manufacturing processes with scalability and future automation in mind.
• Safety, Quality & Compliance
• Ensure manufacturing processes are developed and operated in accordance with applicable company, customer, regulatory, quality, environmental, health, and safety requirements.
• Partner with EHS and appropriate subject-matter experts to incorporate applicable energetic-material and munitions safety requirements into facility and process design.
• Support implementation of appropriate process controls, material traceability, configuration control, documentation, and quality records.
• Participate in process risk assessments, PFMEAs, safety reviews, and manufacturing readiness assessments.
• Help establish a culture where safety is the fundamental element of the production system.

Knowledge (Education/License/Certification, Prior Experience)

• Bachelor's degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Typically 14+ years of manufacturing engineering experience in aerospace, defense, or other complex manufacturing environments.
• Demonstrated experience developing or improving assembly and production processes.
• Ability to work effectively across engineering, operations, quality, supply chain, facilities, and program organizations.
• Ability to operate successfully in an ambiguous, fast-paced greenfield environment where systems and processes are still being established.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate manufacturing risks and recommendations to senior leadership.
• Ability to handle multiple high priorities; comfort with ambiguity; internally driven and excels under pressure
• Proactively implements business and professional improvements
• Ability to support the organizational culture and build morale

Work Model

This role will begin as a remote position during early planning stages. Following the build-out and initial operational setup, the position will transition to full on-site work, with relocation required . The estimated timeline for relocation is approximately 12 to 18 months.

Travel Requirements

Frequent travel will be required throughout facility design, engineering, and construction phases. This includes domestic travel to prospective site locations and project partners, as well as occasional international travel to Israel for coordination with global teams and technical specialists.

Here Are Some of the Great Benefits We Offer:

• Most locations offer a 9/80 schedule, providing every other Friday off
• Competitive compensation & 401(k) program to plan for your future
• Robust medical, dental, vision, & disability coverage with qualified wellness discounts
• Basic Life Insurance and Additional Life & AD&D Insurances are available
• Flexible Vacation & PTO
• Paid Parental Leave
• Generous Employee Referral Program
• Voluntary Benefits Available: Longer Term Care, Legal, Identity Theft, Pet Insurance, and more
• Voluntary Tricare Supplement available for military retirees

This job description does not list all the duties of the job. You may be asked by your supervisors or managers to perform other duties. The employer has the right to revise this job description at any time. The job description is not an employment contract. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position. Twenty‑Six Defense is an equal opportunity employer as to all protected groups, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

*For Virginia‑based positions only* In accordance with Virginia DOL requirements, the listed salary range reflects the anticipated base pay range for this role. Actual compensation will be determined based on factors including skills, experience, education, certifications, business needs, internal equity, and geographic location. Compensation may vary in different locations based on market conditions and cost-of-labor considerations.