
Quality Specialist II, First Shift
Relativity Space · Long Beach, CA
- Level
- Specialist
- Team
- Quality
- Experience asked
- 5+ years
- Industry
- Aerospace & defense
- Posted
- 30+ days ago
The role in 30 seconds
A specialist quality role at Relativity Space (aerospace & defense) in Long Beach, CA.
- They ask for
- 5+ years
- Tools it names
- GD&T, Internal audits, MES
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of October 19, 2026
Quality Engineer roles in California: typical posted base $101k–$149k.
Median of the low and high ends of 80 live postings that list pay, out of 167 quality 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 166 other live quality postings in California.
- Base pay
- Not listed in this posting
- Experience asked
- Typical (5+ years)
Typical $101k–$149k, from 80 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 5+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- Root cause 77%
- FMEA 57%
- Supplier quality 49%
- Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ) 43%
- AS9100 42%
- PPAP 40%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
Stands out: this posting asks for MES, 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 Quality 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?
- Which standards drive the work here: ISO 13485, IATF 16949, AS9100?
- How much of the job is customer complaints versus prevention?
- 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
- ◆Perform hands-on inspections (in-process, final, and borescope/FOD) on propulsion components, large structures, mechanical assemblies, and production hardware during weekend operations
- ◆Review hardware
requirements
to determine pass/fail status, documenting outcomes, non-conformances, and deviations
- ✓Support drawing standardization, DFM, and configuration management and control
- ✓Knowledge of aerospace manufacturing/complex assembly practices and typical quality processes/controls
- ✓Develop and implement inspection plans across incoming, in-process, and final inspection stages in alignment with Product Quality Engineering
requirements
- ✓Support quality infrastructure and compliance, including calibration management, internal audits, and deep analysis of traceability data to identify trends and mitigate quality risks
requirements
- ✓Hands-on experience with MRB processes, including identification, inspection, documentation, and disposition of non-conforming hardware
- ✓Clear communicator able to interface across inspectors, engineers, production, and quality stakeholders
Nice to Haves, but Not Required
- ✓Certifications such as ASQ CQE/CQIA, IPC-A-610, or IPC-A-620
- ✓Prior experience inspecting COPVs and/or avionics hardware, including electrical connectors, power supplies, PCBs, wire harnesses, and integrated assemblies within regulated manufacturing environments
- ✓Proficiency with manufacturing and quality systems, including Jira, MES, ERP, Teamcenter, and CAD
- ✓Demonstrated ability to take initiative, lead projects, or influence quality improvement efforts without formal authority
- ✓Highly organized and capable of bringing structure to ambiguous or previously undefined environments
- ✓Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) certification
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.
This is a first-shift position with a standard schedule of Monday through Friday, 5:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. PT. The role is structured around a 50-hour workweek, including 10 guaranteed overtime hours each week.
About You
- •5+ years of experience in inspection or quality-focused aerospace manufacturing roles, supporting production hardware within structured production environments
- •Expert proficiency with calibrated metrology equipment and precision hand tools, including calipers, micrometers, bore gages, and related precision measurement tools
- •Strong technical interpretation skills, including GD&T per ASME Y14.5, engineering drawings, wire diagrams, work instructions, and CAD models
- •Demonstrated ability to perform thorough inspections and ensure strict compliance with quality standards, hardware requirements, and regulatory
Hiring Range
$38.40 — $57.60 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
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