Senior Manufacturing Test Engineer, Pneumatic Mechanisms & Fluid Assemblies
Relativity Space · Long Beach, United States · 3mo ago
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 the Role:
- Own the development, validation, and refinement of test assets and processes across mechanical, electrical, and pneumatic systems. Collaborate with design and manufacturing partners to ensure production testing campaigns are executed efficiently, reliably and scalable over time.
- Drive the technical execution of mechanisms and integrated assembly testing through design integration, test equipment/tooling design or sourcing, test sequencing, mBOM development, work order creation, test training, and specification authoring.
- Provide technical leadership in workcenter development, offering guidance on assembly and test operations, safety compliance, tooling, capital equipment in alignment with organizational objectives.
- Provide hands-on support to the shop floor and production personnel, promptly addressing any test issues that arise and offering upstream feedback to drive design for manufacturability, testability or reparability.
- Analyze test data to evaluate assembly performance, identify recurring discrepancies, and lead cross-functional teams in root cause analysis and implementation of corrective actions.
- Drive cross-functional collaboration with design, production, supply chain, and quality teams to ensure seamless execution of manufacturing test processes while maintaining alignment with organizational objectives.
About You:
- BS degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, manufacturing engineering or other related discipline with 5+ years of experience building and testing hardware in a manufacturing environment.
- Proven experience authoring test procedures to build and validate mechanical, electrical and pneumatic assemblies.
- Demonstrated experience partnering with design engineering, manufacturing, and production teams to execute test procedures and lead investigations of test failures and anomalies.
- Proven experience designing, implementing, and managing large-scope test systems and process improvements with minimal oversight.
- Expert knowledge of safety standards, common test hazards and appropriate mitigations.
- Hands-on experience in at least two of the following: electromechanical or pneumatic assembly, electrical or pneumatic functional checkouts, integrated testing, leak checking, sensor checkouts, high-voltage systems (320V+), high-pressure pneumatic systems, or instrumentation and sensor setup.
Nice to haves but not required:
- A proactive self-starter with a proven track record of defining and implementing testing processes, driving execution across diverse teams, and successfully managing and delivering testing projects in fast-paced, production-driven environments.
- Working knowledge of rocket subsystems, including structures, mechanisms, high-pressure gas systems, and avionics, with experience in planning and conducting hazardous operations for aerospace hardware systems.
- Knowledge of industry test standards, e.g., SMC-S-016, MIL-STD-1540D, MIL-STD-810G.
- Experience with test automation, data acquisitions and control systems, Electrical Test Equipment (e.g.: oscilloscopes, multimeters etc.), Pressure Test Equipment (e.g.: pressure regulators, flow meter)
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.
Compensation is only one part of our total rewards package. Relativity Space offers competitive salary and equity, a generous PTO and sick leave policy, parental leave, an annual learning and development stipend, and more! To see some of the benefits & perks we offer, please visit here.
We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.
If you need a reasonable accommodation, please contact us at accommodations@relativityspace.com.
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, social media, or directly to an employee - will be deemed the property of Relativity Space, and no fee will be owed absent a current, fully executed agreement with Talent Acquisition that specifically authorizes submissions for the applicable role.