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Rocket Lab is seeking a Senior Supplier Quality Engineer II to ensure quality requirements for procured parts, services, and processes in support of rocket and satellite manufacturing. Based in Long Beach, CA headquarters, this role serves as the technical liaison between internal design/manufacturing teams and suppliers, translating technical requirements into clear specifications and driving continuous supplier improvement.
Key responsibilities include: serving as the technical point of contact for assigned PCBA parts and assemblies, solving emergent supplier quality challenges, and mitigating risk to production manifests. You will own production components end-to-end, driving improvements in manufacturing methods, identifying new suppliers, and developing reliable rate-ramp processes. The role involves conducting design-for-manufacturability (DFM) reviews, partnering with procurement to vet suppliers for quality capability and takt time alignment, and authoring specifications that flow down Rocket Lab's quality and manufacturing requirements to the supply base.
Additional responsibilities include scoping advanced depaneling, optical inspection (AOI), and X-ray inspection technologies; driving root cause resolution on assigned part issues; creating and dispositioning nonconformance tickets; and leading containment activities on assigned parts with cross-functional alignment.
Required qualifications: minimum 8 years' experience in regulated industries (aerospace, medical, automotive, or similar); bachelor's degree in mechanical, electrical, aerospace, or mechatronic engineering (or equivalent); prior supplier quality role experience; and proficiency with GD&T and engineering drawing interpretation.
Highly valued: PCB/PCBA electronics-specific expertise including fabrication processes (lamination, drilling, plating, surface finishes), PCBA assembly processes (SMT, through-hole, selective/wave soldering), IPC standards fluency (IPC-A-600, IPC-A-610, IPC-7711/21, IPC-6012), first article and qualification processes, electronics test methods (ICT, flying probe, functional test, X-ray, AOI), failure analysis techniques, cleanliness and contamination control, component qualification and counterfeit mitigation, ESD controls and MSL compliance, and NADCAP Electronics accreditation familiarity.
