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Rocket Lab is seeking a Senior Manufacturing Engineer to lead turbopump assembly development for the Archimedes engine at their Long Beach headquarters. This role bridges advanced propulsion engineering with production-scale manufacturing, reporting to the Director of Manufacturing Engineering.
You will own the manufacturing strategy and execution for turbopump assembly, mentoring team members on technical and professional development while maintaining excellence through documentation, training, and rigorous work review. Key responsibilities include defining manufacturing processes, designing tooling and equipment to improve quality and cost, leading continuous improvement initiatives using lean methodologies, and collaborating with propulsion technicians and quality teams.
You'll contribute to design reviews as a manufacturing expert, advising on design-for-manufacture, machining optimization, and quality control. You'll perform value stream mapping, method-of-manufacture planning, cell design, factory layout implementation, and equipment selection. You'll develop comprehensive production documentation including testing procedures, safety requirements, and supervisor sign-offs, then lead problem-solving and root-cause investigations when quality issues arise.
The role requires deep expertise in aerospace manufacturing processes, fluid and structural mechanics fundamentals, and heavy development environments. Ideal candidates have turbopump or turbomachinery experience, proficiency in GD&T and inspection methods, capacity modeling, Lean/Six Sigma, and 3D CAD tooling design.
Rocket Lab builds rockets, spacecraft, and critical subsystems for global connectivity, defense, and deep-space exploration. The engineering team spans design, analysis, prototyping, testing, manufacturing, assembly, integration, and quality—all committed to making space access routine.
