
Manufacturing Engineer II, Mechanisms
Relativity Space · Long Beach, CA
- Level
- Engineer
- Team
- Manufacturing
- Degree
- Required
- Experience asked
- 2+ years
- Industry
- Aerospace & defense
- Posted
- Today
The role in 30 seconds
An engineer-level manufacturing role at Relativity Space (aerospace & defense) in Long Beach, CA. Additionally, the team is responsible for developing and designing intricate processes, tooling, training technicians, and optimizing factory floor layouts.
- They ask for
- 2+ years · degree required
- Tools it names
- Value stream mapping, Root cause, FMEA, GD&T, Machining, Tooling
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of October 26, 2026
Manufacturing Engineer roles in California: typical posted base $111k–$168k.
Median of the low and high ends of 139 live postings that list pay, out of 368 manufacturing 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 367 other live manufacturing postings in California.
- Base pay
- Not listed in this posting
- Experience asked
- Less than usual (2+ vs 5+)
Typical $109k–$157k, from 123 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 5+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- ✓ Tooling 52%
- ✓ New product launch 49%
- ✓ Root cause 40%
- Automation 36%
- CATIA / NX 28%
- ✓ Machining 27%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
Stands out: this posting asks for Value stream mapping, 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 Manufacturing team at Relativity Space
We found 9 people at this company and state: 7 in this kind of role, 2 leaders. 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 Piunik → (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?
- Is the work mostly new product launches or sustaining existing lines?
- How much time do you spend on the floor versus at a desk?
- 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
75 other open roles at this site · 9 people we found in manufacturing roles at Relativity Space.
- Staff Materials & Process Engineer · Process · Senior
- Manufacturing Engineer I, Machining · Manufacturing
- Senior Weld Technician · Manufacturing · Technician
- Build Reliability Engineer II · Reliability
- Manufacturing Engineer II, Paint & TPS · Manufacturing
- Build Reliability Engineer I · Reliability
Full description from Relativity SpaceAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
About the Role
- ◆Own major mechanized assemblies and their child components from design release through test and successful integration onto the Terran R launch vehicle—lay out the build and test flow to ensure an efficient, high-quality product flow capable of scaling with time.
- ◆Drive the assembly’s build and test effort through design integration, part sourcing, assembly sequencing, mBOM development, build and test work order creation, and specification authoring.
- ◆Support workcenter development by considering assembly and test operations, safety, tooling and capital equipment requirements, and company operational goals.
- ◆Provide hands-on support to the shop floor and production personnel, promptly addressing any issues that arise and offering upstream feedback to drive design for manufacturability.
- ◆Analyze and disposition recurring manufacturing discrepancies and lead multi-disciplinary teams on root cause analysis and corrective actions.
- ◆Foster a culture of critical thinking and imaginative problem-solving, constantly challenging the established norms in engineering and manufacturing, and pushing the boundaries to achieve efficient production throughout the workcenter. Mentor other manufacturing engineers, providing guidance to support technical and professional development.
Nice to haves but not required
- ✓New product introduction of an aerospace hardware system into a manufacturing, test, and production system with proven success. Along with transitioning products from prototype to high volume production. Understand the importance of assessing a situation and leveraging both short-term and long-term solutions.
- ✓Working knowledge of rocket subsystems including structures, mechanisms, high pressure gas systems and/or avionics.
- ✓Expert understanding of GD&T and drafting principles.
- ✓Experience in capacity analyses, DFMEA/PFMEA, value stream mapping.
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 Mechanisms Manufacturing team at Relativity Space is currently in the design release and New Product Introduction phase for Terran R, our next generation, fully re-useable rocket. This team handles a broad range of responsibilities, collaborating closely with vehicle design , supply chain, test , production , and vehicle integration to develop electromechanical and pneumatic hardware that supports rocket reusability. This includes key components like landing legs mechanisms , grid fin actuators, pneumatic separation and release mechanisms, and linear and rotary electromechanical actuators. Additionally, the team is responsible for developing and designing intricate processes, tooling, training technicians, and optimizing factory floor layouts. Unique to Relativity, you will get to work across many teams to iterate and support development of the vehicle program. To be successful in this role, you need to be a self-starter that can thrive in ambiguity, identify problems and quickly resolve them, and provide definition to the previously undefined. You should have a commitment to quality , balance short-term and long-term solutions, and have the discipline required to achieve our objectives .
About You
- •BS degree in aerospace, mechanical, or manufacturing engineering with 2+ years of experience building and testing hardware in a manufacturing environment.
- •Extensive experience developing processes, authoring work instructions and/or test procedures to build and test interdisciplinary mechanical, electrical, and pneumatic assemblies.
- •Experience interfacing with design engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, quality, planning, and production personnel.
- •Extensive experience leading, executing and managing large process and/or quality improvements with large scope of ownership.
- •Ability to work autonomously with little supervision in a fast-paced and ambiguous environment.
- •Knowledge in at least 2 of the following:
- •fastening and torquing operations, pneumatic and/or electromechanical assembly, electrical and/or pneumatic testing or functional checkouts, tooling design and fabrication, potting processes, grease plating processes, harness manufacturing, machining of complex products like gears.
Hiring Range
$104,000 — $156,000 USD
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