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Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Lead, Manufacturing Engineer - Space Systems - **Company:** Rocket Lab - **Location:** Long Beach, CA, United States - **Experience:** Expert - **Salary:** $125,000.0 - $170,000.0 - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Business Systems, Computer Engineering, Failure Mode Effects Analysis - **Published:** August 3, 2026 - **Apply:** https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=e007311c17ecda53 ## About the Role * Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Mechatronics, Computer Engineering, or similar * 5+ years of technical experience in a Manufacturing, Production, or Process Engineering environment * Hands-on experience proactively identifying and solving systemic multifaceted problems in complex manufacturing systems * Ability to effectively deliver multiple complex multifaceted assignments simultaneously with autonomy * Ability to effectively coach and mentor others to raise the bar across multiple teams * Detailed technical knowledge in complex manufacturing processes * Personnel leadership experience * Capital and facilities justification, project management and implementation * Perform periodic reviews with direct employees * Interview and hire candidates to fill new roles * Create team goals and metrics to drive continuous improvement projects, * 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. 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. ## Description * 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 ## Related Videos - [What Production Knows: Closing the Loop Between AI Agents and the Systems They Build](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100277-what-production-knows-closing-the-loop-between-ai-agents-and-the-systems-they-build) - [Swapping a Data Warehouse at Runtime: Zero-Downtime Migration Without Changing a Single Client](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100311-swapping-a-data-warehouse-at-runtime-zero-downtime-migration-without-changing-a-single-client) - [APIs and Architecture for scaling omnichannel payments](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/90-apis-and-architecture-for-scaling-omnichannel-payments) - [From Space to Software: Reliability Lessons 40 Years After Challenger](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100283-from-space-to-software-reliability-lessons-40-years-after-challenger) - [Breaking the Hardware Mindset: Overcoming Barriers to System-Level Innovation](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1635-breaking-the-hardware-mindset-overcoming-barriers-to-system-level-innovation) - [Agentic AI: building autonomous systems for developers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100034-agentic-ai-building-autonomous-systems-for-developers) ## Related Articles - [How We Built a Worry-Free System That Runs for 10+ Years – And What We’d Do Again](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/751-how-we-built-a-worry-free-system-that-runs-for-10-years-and-what-we-d-do-again) - [Fully Remote Software Engineer Jobs](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/447-fully-remote-software-engineer-jobs) - [The Prompt Engineer ✍️](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/216-the-prompt-engineer) - [Dev Digest 121 - AI goes offline](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/456-dev-digest-121-ai-goes-offline) - [Is Software Engineering Hard?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/448-is-software-engineering-hard) - [Prompt Engineering is a Job of the Past](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/342-prompt-engineering-is-a-job-of-the-past)