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Salary: USD 115,000 - 158,400 / annual
Rocket Lab Robotics, part of Rocket Lab's Space Systems division, is seeking a Senior Avionics Manufacturing Engineer I to drive manufacturing excellence for high-performance robotic systems and precision mechanisms used in space exploration and national security missions. The company has delivered flight-proven solutions including robotic arms, motion control systems, and solar array drive assemblies for NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover, CADRE lunar rovers, and other ambitious space missions.
In this role, you will develop, implement, and continuously improve avionics manufacturing processes with deep expertise in EEE piece parts, PCB, PCBA, electromechanical assembly, tooling, test, and quality techniques. You will be the critical bridge between design engineering, production, quality, supply chain, and skilled technicians, translating designs into efficient, repeatable, and well-documented manufacturing processes.
Key responsibilities include:
- Collaborating with design engineers to solve reliability and quality challenges in electromechanical assemblies and test fixtures
- Reviewing fabrication and assembly documentation for flight and production hardware, providing manufacturability feedback to improve efficiency, reduce risk, and optimize cost
- Developing build methods to increase throughput, reduce errors, simplify technician workflows, and improve manufacturability
- Collecting, documenting, and communicating lessons learned across design, manufacturing, quality, and production teams
- Creating and maintaining clear work instructions, travelers, test procedures, and visual aids for effective engineering-technician communication
- Overseeing production travelers and manufacturing documentation to ensure traceability, quality compliance, and efficient execution
- Maintaining integrated planning and build documents reflecting current hardware configurations, work scope, priorities, and production readiness
- Identifying and mitigating risks tied to shortages, late drawing releases, process planning gaps, and supply constraints
- Analyzing and resolving manufacturing discrepancies and non-conformances; collaborating with quality on improvement initiatives
- Developing production procedures and processes with clear, repeatable documentation
- Contributing to and steering design reviews as a design-for-manufacture and design-for-test expert
This is an ideal role for someone who enjoys hands-on problem-solving, rapid iteration, and building the processes that enable complex robotics hardware to move from prototype through production. The position is based onsite at Rocket Lab Robotics in Pasadena, CA.
QUALIFICATIONS (Required):
- Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering, manufacturing engineering, aerospace engineering, or similar engineering discipline
- 5+ years of experience in an avionics, electrical, or electrical/mechanical focused manufacturing environment
- Knowledge of electronic circuits, design principles, and manufacturing techniques
- Experience developing manufacturing processes, work instructions, or test procedures for complex hardware
- U.S. Citizenship required due to program requirements (ITAR compliance)
QUALIFICATIONS (Nice to Have):
- Experience transitioning products from design to production as part of a cross-functional team in a fast-paced, iterative design environment
- Working experience with environmental acceptance/production acceptance testing (vibration, shock, thermal, vacuum)
- Understanding of instrumentation, interfaces, and sensors including power supplies, oscilloscopes, serial devices, switch topologies, accelerometers, thermocouples, RTDs, and 4-20mA sensors
- Demonstrated experience with DFMEA, PFMEA methodologies, Fault Tree Analysis, Pareto analysis, root cause and corrective action
- Working experience with capacity modeling, process mapping, Lean/Six Sigma, and value stream mapping
- SPC knowledge and experience applying statistical methods to track process capability and performance
