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Senior Manufacturing Engineer, Mechanical Fluid Assemblies

Relativity Space · Long Beach, CA

Level
Senior
Team
Reliability
Degree
Required
Experience asked
5+ years
Industry
Aerospace & defense
Posted
Yesterday

The role in 30 seconds

A senior reliability role at Relativity Space (aerospace & defense) in Long Beach, CA.

They ask for
5+ years · degree required
Tools it names
Lean, Root cause, GD&T, Automation, Tooling, MES

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

Typical $115k–$169k, from 70 postings that list pay.

Experience asked
Typical (5+ years)

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 MES, which few similar roles mention. If you have it, lead with it.

It asks for 5+ years. If you're close, apply anyway: requirements are a wish list. Talk to someone doing this work there first.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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

70 other open roles at this site · 1 person we found in reliability roles at Relativity Space.

All 71 roles at Relativity Space →
Full description from Relativity SpaceAs posted on their careers site.Show

About the Role

  • ◆Own hardware from design release through build, test, and delivery for vehicle sub-systems, taking full responsibility for execution readiness and product quality across high-volume subassemblies. Hardware spanning from fluids, electrical, or structural sub-assemblies
  • ◆Develop and release detailed build flows, work instructions, and test procedures to enable repeatable, high-quality execution across first builds and maturing programs. Focus on process development is key to success to scale the workcenter
  • ◆Support first article builds in a fast-paced environment, focusing on manufacturability, repeatability, and quality, while developing scalable processes that enable a smooth ramp to higher production rates
  • ◆Provide hands-on floor support during build and test, resolving issues in real time, incorporating technician feedback, and driving continuous improvement across hardware flow and process discipline
  • ◆Coordinate across design, supply chain, production, and test teams to ensure part readiness, tooling availability, schedule alignment, and smooth handoffs between build stages
  • ◆Contribute to the development of long-term manufacturing systems and infrastructure, including tooling strategies, ERP/MES workflows, and production documentation standards

Nice to haves but not required

  • ✓Experience supporting new aerospace product introduction or transitioning hardware from prototype to production, especially in a high-rate or scaling environment
  • ✓Experience directly authoring and executing test procedures, including acting as a test conductor for integrated system verification
  • ✓Familiarity with hazardous operations, fluid system safety, or test execution involving pressurized or high-risk environments
  • ✓Experience in a fast-paced and lean environment, including direct vendor engagement, tool development, or leading a small team through an ambiguous build or test effort

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 ↓

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 Stage Manufacturing team turns design into reality, owning the build of Terran R’s primary structures. This isn’t about turning the same bolt every day; it’s about building the systems to build the rocket. Engineers and technicians work side by side, with deep collaboration and real-time feedback, to shape how we build better and faster. With a manifest and a launch date, it’s up to the team to deliver on Terran R: solving challenges in real time, optimizing for scale, and constantly improving processes. As the vehicle evolves, so will the factory, with opportunities to apply automation, machine learning, and advanced technologies. What we build here sets the blueprint for the future of scaled launch.

About You

  • •Degree in engineering or a related technical field, with 5+ years of hands-on experience building and testing hardware in a manufacturing or integration environment
  • •Skilled at investigating hardware issues, resolving non-conformances, and driving root cause analysis with corrective actions implemented effectively
  • •Familiar with general assembly and test procedures, including tolerance stack-up analysis, structural proof testing, and pressurized leak checks
  • •Comfortable interfacing across design, manufacturing, supply chain, and test teams to ensure hardware quality and schedule alignment
  • •Self-starter who can define and roll out new processes from scratch, working collaboratively with technicians, engineers, and external vendors
  • •Proficient in GD&T, CAD, and basic design or test analysis, with experience in at least two of the following: LOX cleanliness, leak checking, sensor checkouts, tube bending, tool design, crane operations, or subassembly builds

Hiring Range

$122,000 — $182,000 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,

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