Senior Manufacturing Engineer I - Avionics & Test

Rocket Lab is the end-to-end space company building rockets, spacecraft, and critical subsystems that keep the world connected, protected, expand humanity’s reach to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. We move fast, build real hardware for meaningful missions, and make the impossible routine. Come shape the future with us.

Manufacturing Engineering powers Rocket Lab’s factories from concept to full-scale production. We turn early ideas into manufacturable designs, build and optimize the systems that make them real, and constantly push for faster, better, smarter ways to build. We engineer the factories that build the rockets, boosting quality, cutting cost, and accelerating build rate.

This role centers on testing and avionics, involving hands-on debugging of electro-mechanical and avionics systems, optimizing manufacturing processes, and supporting product design for manufacturability. It also includes troubleshooting production issues, collaborating with cross-functional teams, and driving process improvements.

• •Prepare feasibility studies and conduct manufacturing technology Research & Development projects
• •Partner with our Design Engineering teams to incorporate Design for Manufacture into our products to ensure robustness and manufacturability at scale
• •Engineer and deliver our factories – design, procure, install, validate assembly, test and verification processes
• •Support Development builds to uncover early learnings and resolve issues to accelerate the production ramp up
• •Take engineering ownership of production lines to remove blockers, improve yield and increase build efficiency
• •Triage and diagnose failures, conduct deep technical investigations and determine the right path forward including risk mitigation actions and root cause resolution
• •Collaborate with cross functional teams to resolve complex issues
• •Drive process improvements across manufacturing, test and integration
• •Contribute to change management, assessing risk and impact of design or process changes
• •Support business system and process improvements to drive increased organizational effectiveness and efficiency

• +Working experience with environmental acceptance/production acceptance testing, such as vibration, shock, thermal, and vacuum
• +Understanding of instrumentation, interfaces, and sensors including power supplies, oscilloscopes, serial devices, switch topologies, accelerometers, thermocouples, RTDs, and 4-20mA sensors
• +Experience with designing, implementing, and supporting a production line and/or build area
• +Experience transitioning products from design to production as a part of cross-functional team in a fast-paced, iterative design environment
• +Demonstrated experience with DFMEA, PFMEA methodologies, Fault Tree Analysis, Pareto analysis, root cause and corrective action

This position may require prolonged periods of sitting, standing, walking, computer work, and occasional exposure to moderate levels of noise, dust, and fumes in production areas.

Anticipated annual equity grant value is designed around function, level, experience, and other factors; realized value depends on vesting and stock-price performance.

Join one of the world's fastest-growing space companies and own a piece of it. In addition to competitive base pay, you'll receive company stock as part of your total compensation package , giving you a direct stake in our success. As we expand to new launch sites, groundbreaking missions, and global markets, your ownership has the opportunity to grow alongside the company.

Our comprehensive benefits package includes our industry-leading Employee Stock Purchase Program (with a 15% discount on company stock), top-tier medical plans (HMO, PPO, and a zero cost HDHP option with a significant HSA company contribution), dental and vision coverage, paid vacation and sick time, 11 paid holidays, flexible spending and dependent care accounts, paid parental leave, disability and life insurance, and a 401(k) retirement plan with company match.

Additional perks include subsidized EV charging, onsite fitness centers (where available), discounted gym memberships, complimentary snacks and beverages, 50% employee discount on our popular merch store, and a variety of other employee discounts.

Level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience.

$135,000 — $194,000 USD

Base Salary

$115,000 — $158,000 USD

We’re on a mission to unlock the potential of space to improve life on Earth, but that’s not an easy task. It takes hard work, determination, relentless innovation, teamwork, grit, and an unwavering commitment to achieving what others often deem impossible. Our people out-think, out-work, and out-pace. We pride ourselves on having each other’s backs, checking our egos at the door, and rolling up ou