
Build Reliability Engineer I
Relativity Space · Long Beach, CA
- Level
- Engineer
- Team
- Reliability
- Degree
- Required
- Experience asked
- 1+ years
- Industry
- Aerospace & defense
- Posted
- Today
The role in 30 seconds
An engineer-level reliability role at Relativity Space (aerospace & defense) in Long Beach, CA.
- They ask for
- 1+ years · degree required
- Tools it names
- Root cause, SPC, FMEA, APQP, GD&T, ISO 9001
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of October 26, 2026
Reliability Engineer roles in California: typical posted base $115k–$169k.
Median of the low and high ends of 71 live postings that list pay, out of 153 reliability 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 152 other live reliability postings in California.
- Base pay
- Not listed in this posting
- Experience asked
- Less than usual (1+ vs 5+)
Typical $115k–$169k, from 70 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 5+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- ✓ Root cause 71%
- ✓ New product launch 44%
- ✓ FMEA 40%
- ✓ Automation 31%
- Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ) 26%
- Tooling 22%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
Stands out: this posting asks for ISO 9001, 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 Reliability team at Relativity Space
We found 1 person at this company and state: 1 in this kind of role. Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. See 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.
Write to Ryan → (free) - 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- 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
- ◆Ownership may include the following: Design: drawing standardization, DFM, and configuration management and control
- ◆Planning: work instruction review, process development, standard rework/repair documentation
- ◆Manufacturing: in-process build verification, coordinate of travelled work, etc.
- ◆Program: Nonconformance ticket processes, as-built verification, root cause/corrective action, etc.
- ◆Drive initiatives to facilitate quality in our growing launch vehicle program. Some projects may include spearheading specification development, developing walk down checklists, supporting automation initiatives for quality inspection, assisting in DFM practices, etc.
- ◆Develop strong working relationships with Engineering, Additive, Manufacturing, Test, and Launch teams to ensure all company objectives can be met
Nice to haves but not required
- ✓Working knowledge of product development methodologies such as Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP), Statistical Process Control (SPC) and Production Process Verification (PPV).
- ✓New product introduction (NPI) of hardware system into a manufacturing, test, and production system with proven success.
- ✓Familiarity with high-volume inspection methods and data-driven acceptance methods.
- ✓Understanding of AS9100/ISO9001 applications and practices for an aerospace program.
- ✓Self-starter that has demonstrated the ability to define and own a process from scratch and roll out that process through adept communication to a diverse team.
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 of Science degree in Engineering or other STEM field and m inimum of 1 year of experience acting as a Quality Engineer or Manufacturing Engineer at a fast-paced manufacturing company
- •Experience interfacing with design engineering, manufacturing, production and test personnel
- •Knowledge of aerospace manufacturing/complex assembly practices and typical quality processes/controls
- •Working knowledge of typical PLM, MES, ERP and QMS software and p roficiency with Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T)
- •Ability to establish goals and objectives to complete projects.
- •Ability to effectively communicate and present information to team members, team leaders, and top management and w ell-versed in process development and first-time quality efforts
Hiring Range
$90,000 — $136,000 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.
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