ShopFloorJobs
Rocket Lab logo

Senior Quality Technician II

Rocket Lab · Tucson, AZ

Apply on Rocket Lab ↗
Level
Technician
Team
Quality
Experience asked
20+ years
Industry
Aerospace & defense
Posted
12 days ago

The role in 30 seconds

A technician-level quality role at Rocket Lab (aerospace & defense) in Tucson, AZ.

They ask for
20+ years
Tools it names
GD&T, AS9100

Read from the posting. The full description is below.

From the plant jobs report · week of October 19, 2026

Quality Technician roles in the US: typical posted base $50k–$70k.

Median of the low and high ends of 23 live postings that list pay, out of 401 quality technician openings in the US, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.

Arizona plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →

How this role compares

Against 12 other live quality postings in Arizona.

Experience asked
More than usual (20+ vs 3+)

Similar roles usually ask 3+ years.

Skills these teams ask for most

  • FDA / GMP 46%
  • Control plans 31%
  • Root cause 31%
  • Team leadership 23%
  • ✓ GD&T 23%

✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.

Stands out: this posting asks for AS9100, which few similar roles mention. If you have it, lead with it.

It asks for 20+ 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 Quality team at Rocket Lab

    Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. Use the team search on this page to find 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.

  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?
    • 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. 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.

Full description from Rocket LabAs posted on their careers site.Show

requirements

and operating protocols to determine final inspection status of product

  • ✓Prepare deliverable product data packages as prescribed by program/procedural

requirements

  • ✓Perform process verification/audits as assigned
  • ✓Support Quality System training initiatives
  • ✓Deploy the Quality Management System as it applies to scope of work
  • ✓Other appropriate activities as assigned
  • ✓Program, set up, and operate automated coordinate measuring machine (CMM)
  • ✓Generate inspection reports
  • ✓Familiarity with AS9100 standard or comparable quality management system preferred
Show full description ↓

About rocket lab

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.

Space systems

Rocket Lab’s Space Systems division builds complete spacecraft, precision payloads to the components and subsystems that allow them to thrive in space including solar panels, flight software, star trackers, optical systems, separation systems, and radios.

The Space Systems division has enabled more than 1,700 missions, ranging from interplanetary exploration, in-space manufacturing to national security and defense initiatives. We have built spacecraft, payloads, and components for missions to the Moon and Mars, working with partners including NASA, the Space Development Agency, and the U.S. Space Force. Whether it’s a single high-performance spacecraft, constellation, or the vertically integrated components that help get to space — our Space Systems division is empowering the boldest and most ambitious space missions.

Senior quality technician ii

Rocket Lab Optical Systems solves mission-critical space domain and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance challenges for Department of Defense and Intelligence Community customers. Our vision is to revolutionize the space-based payload market with innovative and novel designs for space, terrestrial, and airborne environments. Building on more than 20 years of electro-optical and infrared systems innovation from Geost, Rocket Lab Optical Systems delivers solutions to the warfighter for responsive, scalable sensing solutions across all orbital domains.

As a Senior Quality Technician II for Rocket Lab Optical Systems in Tucson, AZ, you will have the opportunity to support the quality of avionics hardware for our electro-optical (EO) systems. You will work collaboratively in all aspects of electrical hardware development, prototyping, fabrication, testing, and production. Join a driven team of pioneers relentlessly tackling challenging projects, delivering on the impossible, and making an impact on the future of space!

What you’ll get to do

  • •Perform final disposition of finished product (release to stock and outgoing QC)
  • •Evaluate production and test data against product

As senior quality technician ii

  • •8+ years of experience in a production/manufacturing environment
  • •Proficient in ASME Y14.5 geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T)
  • •Experience programming and operating automated CMMs, using CAM software
  • •High school diploma or GED

Would be nice to have

  • +Ability to read and interpret components and assembly drawings
  • +Ability to effectively present information in one-on-one and small group situations to customers and other employees of the organization
  • +Must be able to speak, read, write, and understand the English language
  • +Ability to perform these operations using units of American money and weight measurement, volume, and distance
  • +Ability to deal with standardized situations with flexibility to change in priority
  • +Familiarity with metrology equipment preferred
  • +Desire experience/previous exposure to design and manufacturing environment and implementation of protocol
  • +Detail-oriented and able to correctly generate, audit, and review documentation
  • +Computer proficient with ability to learn new software as required

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.

What to expect

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 our sleeves on all tasks big and small. We thrive under pressure, work to tight deadlines, and our focus is always on how we can deliver, rather than dwelling on the challenges that stand in the way.

For candidates seeking to work in us offices only

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), Rocket Lab Employees must be a U.S. citizen, lawful U.S. permanent resident (i.e., current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State and/or the U.S. Department of Commerce, as applicable. Learn more about ITAR here .

More Quality roles nearby