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Rocket Lab is seeking a Manufacturing Engineer II to drive manufacturing process improvements and factory optimization for rocket and spacecraft assembly and integration. This role bridges design and production, focusing on turning early concepts into scalable, manufacturable systems.
Key responsibilities include conducting feasibility studies and manufacturing R&D projects; partnering with design engineering teams to embed Design for Manufacturability principles; engineering and delivering factory systems including process design, procurement, installation, and validation; supporting development builds to accelerate production ramp-up; and taking engineering ownership of production lines to remove blockers and improve yield and efficiency.
You will triage and diagnose production failures, conduct root cause analysis, and determine mitigation strategies. The role requires collaboration across cross-functional teams to resolve complex technical issues, drive continuous process improvements in manufacturing and test operations, and support change management by assessing risk and impact of design or process modifications. You'll also contribute to business system and process improvements to enhance organizational effectiveness.
The ideal candidate holds a Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Mechatronics, Computer Engineering, or similar discipline, with 2+ years of hands-on technical experience in manufacturing, production, or process engineering environments. You should have demonstrated ability to solve problems in complex manufacturing systems and deliver autonomously on complex assignments with foundational knowledge of complex manufacturing processes.
Desirable experience includes environmental acceptance and production acceptance testing (vibration, shock, thermal, vacuum); instrumentation and sensor knowledge; production line design and implementation; product transition from design to production in fast-paced iterative environments; and familiarity with DFMEA, PFMEA, Fault Tree Analysis, Pareto analysis, and root cause corrective action methodologies.
The position involves prolonged periods of sitting, standing, walking, and computer work, with occasional exposure to moderate noise, dust, and fumes in production areas. Compensation includes competitive base pay plus company stock.
