
Director, Supplier Industrialization Engineering
Relativity Space · Long Beach, CA
- Level
- Director+
- Team
- Industrial
- Travel
- 50%
- Degree
- Required
- Experience asked
- 10+ years
- Certification
- Black Belt preferred
- Industry
- Aerospace & defense
- Posted
- 30+ days ago
The role in 30 seconds
A director-level industrial role at Relativity Space (aerospace & defense) in Long Beach, CA.
- They ask for
- 10+ years · degree required · Black Belt preferred
- Tools it names
- Lean, Six Sigma, Black Belt, Root cause, FMEA, PPAP
- Day to day
- about 50% travel
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of October 19, 2026
Industrial Engineer roles in California: typical posted base $127k–$190k.
Median of the low and high ends of 14 live postings that list pay, out of 39 industrial engineer openings in California, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.
California plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →
How this role compares
Against 38 other live industrial postings in California.
- Base pay
- Not listed in this posting
- Experience asked
- More than usual (10+ vs 6+)
Typical $127k–$190k, from 13 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 6+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- ✓ New product launch 54%
- ✓ Lean 54%
- ✓ Six Sigma 44%
- ✓ Root cause 41%
- Supplier quality 36%
- SPC 33%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
Stands out: this posting asks for Black Belt, Control plans, which few similar roles mention. If you have it, lead with it.
At a glance
Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.
How to get in at this plant
Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.
- 1
Pick 2–3 people on the Industrial team at Relativity Space
Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. Use the team search on this page to find them.
- 2
Send a short, curious note
One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.
- 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- Is it more layout and capacity work, or time studies and standard work?
- The posting says about 50% travel. Between which sites?
- The posting mentions a Black Belt. Does the company sponsor certification?
- How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
- 4
Apply with someone vouching for you
If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.
- 5
Bring proof to the interview
One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.
This plant: Relativity Space in Long Beach
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Full description from Relativity SpaceAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
About the Role
- ◆Develop and lead a high-performing Supplier Development Engineering team, fostering ownership, technical rigor, and data-driven decision-making.
- ◆Set and execute the supplier development strategy, reliability roadmap, and SQMS processes to meet Terran R production, launch, and compliance
requirements
(AS9100/ISO 9001).
- ✓Drive supplier performance management, establishing key metrics and scorecards to improve PPM, yield, PPAP timing, and overall supplier capability.
- ✓Own major supplier risk escalation and resolution, guiding disciplined problem solving (e.g., 8D) and ensuring rapid recovery on quality or capacity issues.
- ✓Lead cross-functional alignment with Engineering, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain on supplier qualification, technical requirements, and NPI execution.
- ✓Oversee technical and operational execution, including supplier qualification, APQP/DFM/DFA, PPAP/FAIR approvals, and CI initiatives (Lean/Six Sigma) to ensure robust manufacturing and protect build schedules.
Nice to haves but not required
- ✓Master’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Aerospace, Industrial, or a related technical field).
- ✓Professional certification such as Six Sigma Black Belt, ASQ Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence (CMQ/OE), or PMP.
- ✓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.
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.
Show full description ↓Show less ↑
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 Team
The Reliability team at Relativity Space ensures quality is built into every stage of the Terran R design and production process, embedding reliability from the very beginning. The team works directly with design, manufacturing, test, and launch teams to stay close to the hardware, understand constraints, and proactively shape decisions. As the program moves from development into production and scaled operations, this is the time to establish the right processes, controls, and inspections without slowing progress. The team plays a key role in balancing risk, fostering a culture of ownership, and making sure speed never comes at the cost of reliability. Success means creating a quality system that scales with the Terran R program and Relativity as a whole.
About You
- •Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Aerospace, Industrial, or a related technical field)
- •10+ years of experience in Supplier Industrialization, Supplier Development, or Manufacturing Engineering, ideally within the aerospace or a high-reliability/safety-critical industry.
- •5+ years of direct people management experience, including coaching, mentorship, and performance management of an engineering team
- •Expert knowledge of quality systems (AS9100/ISO 9001) and core quality tools (APQP, PPAP, FAIRs, PFMEA, Control Plans), with a proven ability to influence the implementation and compliance of key quality initiatives.
- •Demonstrated capability to build processes from the ground up and successfully deploy them across diverse teams.
- •Willingness to travel up to 50% of the work week when needed.
Hiring Range
$195,000 — $293,000 USD
Please note: Relativity Space does not accept unsolicited resumes, candidate profiles, or referrals from recruitment agencies or search firms. Any unsolicited submission - via email, our website, social media, or directly to an employee - will be deemed the property of Relativity Space, and no fee will be owed absent a current, fully executed agreement with Talent Acquisition that specifically authorizes submissions for the applicable role.
