Senior Advanced Manufacturing Engineer

Senior Manufacturing Engineer – Advanced Aerospace & Defense Location: Torrance, CA or Rio Rancho, NM Salary: $160,000–$200,000 + Equity Employment Type: Full-Time | Permanent Work Arrangement: On-Site, 5 Days per Week Industry: Aerospace | Defense | Advanced Manufacturing About the Opportunity We are partnering with a rapidly growing, well-funded aerospace and defense technology company seeking Senior Manufacturing Engineers to help build and scale production of next-generation aerospace systems. This is an exceptional opportunity for engineers who thrive in fast-paced, hands-on environments and want to take ownership of complex hardware manufacturing from prototype through full-scale production. Unlike traditional manufacturing positions focused on maintaining existing production lines, this role offers the opportunity to build manufacturing processes from the ground up, develop production capabilities, and help transition advanced hardware into high-volume manufacturing. Our client is seeking engineers who are comfortable solving difficult technical problems, taking initiative, and delivering measurable results.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the manufacturing development and production readiness of critical aerospace hardware components and subsystems.
• Design, develop, implement, and scale manufacturing processes for complex hardware.
• Lead the transition from prototype and development-stage manufacturing to repeatable, scalable production.
• Develop manufacturing processes involving composites, machined components, bonding, adhesives, propulsion-related hardware, or specialty materials.
• Design and improve manufacturing tooling, fixtures, assembly processes, and production workflows.
• Collaborate with design engineering teams to improve Design for Manufacturability (DFM).
• Develop manufacturing documentation, including work instructions, assembly procedures, test procedures, and manufacturing bills of materials (mBOMs).
• Identify production bottlenecks and implement improvements to efficiency, throughput, quality, and reliability.
• Troubleshoot manufacturing challenges through direct, hands-on involvement with hardware.
• Take ownership of manufacturing deliverables and drive projects from concept through execution.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.

• 5+ years of hands-on manufacturing engineering experience involving complex hardware.

• Experience in aerospace, defense, automotive, or similarly advanced hardware manufacturing environments.

• Demonstrated experience building, launching, or scaling manufacturing processes or production capacity, rather than solely maintaining existing production lines.

• Direct experience with hardware fabrication, assembly, manufacturing processes, or testing.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing process development, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement.
• Experience collaborating with engineering teams to transition designs into production.
• Proven ability to independently own technical projects and deliver measurable results.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident and eligible to obtain a security clearance.
• Must be willing to work on-site five days per week in Torrance, CA or Rio Rancho, NM.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience manufacturing aerospace structures, propulsion systems, composites, or other complex hardware.
• Experience with solid rocket motors, composite layups, adhesive bonding, epoxy processes, or specialty materials processing.
• Experience scaling manufacturing operations from prototype to hundreds or thousands of units annually.
• Experience designing production tooling, fixtures, and assembly equipment.
• Knowledge of CAD/PDM systems such as Siemens NX and Teamcenter.
• Experience developing manufacturing work instructions, test procedures, and mBOMs.
• Background working in high-growth aerospace, defense technology, automotive, or advanced manufacturing companies.
• Experience in fast-moving environments where engineers take direct responsibility for hardware development and production outcomes.

What Makes This Opportunity Different? Build From the Ground Up: Help establish and scale manufacturing processes rather than simply maintain existing operations. Meaningful Technical Ownership: Take responsibility for critical hardware and drive projects from initial development through production. Advanced Technology: Work on sophisticated aerospace and defense systems at the forefront of modern engineering. High-Performance Engineering Culture: Collaborate with talented engineers in an environment that values initiative, technical excellence, and rapid execution. Competitive Compensation: $160,000–$200,000 base salary plus equity. Career Growth: Join a rapidly expanding organization investing significantly in manufacturing infrastructure and production capabilities. Who We're Looking For The ideal candidate is a hands-on manufacturing engineer who enjoys building things, solving challenging problems, and taking ownership.

You may be a strong fit if you have:

• Personally developed or launched a new manufacturing process or production line.
• Taken hardware from prototype through repeatable production.
• Improved manufacturing capacity, throughput, yield, or production efficiency.
• Designed tooling or solved complex fabrication and assembly challenges.
• Worked in an environment where engineers are expected to move quickly, take initiative, and deliver results.

We are especially interested in engineers who can clearly demonstrate what they personally built, improved, or scaled. Compensation & Location Base Salary: $160,000–$200,000 annually, depending on qualifications and experience. Additional Compensation: Competitive equity. Locations: Torrance, California or Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Schedule: Full-time, on-site, five days per week. Relocation assistance may be available. Apply Today If you're a manufacturing engineer who wants to move beyond maintaining existing production lines and take ownership of building and scaling advanced aerospace hardware, we'd welcome the opportunity to speak with you. Apply today to learn more about this exciting opportunity.