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Salary: USD 125,000 - 170,000 / annual
Terran Orbital, a leading satellite manufacturer serving aerospace and defense, is seeking a Senior Weld Engineer to join the Electrical Power Systems (EPS) team. Reporting to the IPT Lead – EPS, you will drive the development, optimization, and qualification of welding processes critical to high-reliability space hardware, with deep focus on resistance spot welding and advanced battery manufacturing for spacecraft and satellite systems.
You will own the full lifecycle of welding process development: designing and executing Design of Experiments (DOE) to characterize resistance welding process windows, analyzing expulsion limits and electrode wear behavior, and implementing design improvements. You'll apply Design for Manufacturing (DFM) principles to enhance producibility and robustness of welded assemblies destined for spaceflight. Close collaboration with manufacturing teams and technicians will ensure welding process plans, operating procedures, and standardized work instructions are properly implemented.
Key responsibilities include interpreting industry welding standards and tailoring them to Terran Orbital applications to support Welding Procedure Specification (WPS) and Procedure Qualification Record (PQR) creation and maintenance. You will develop, qualify, and maintain weld schedules for resistance welding equipment used in battery and power storage system production. Working with Quality Engineering, you'll establish pass/fail criteria for battery cell and module weld operations, lead root cause analysis and corrective actions for weld-related nonconformances, and drive cross-functional initiatives to improve manufacturing reliability and reduce variation.
You'll contribute to continuous improvement activities including equipment capability studies, weld tool design enhancements, and advanced welding technique evaluations. This role requires clear, data-driven communication of engineering decisions suitable for flight-critical hardware and supports the development of next-generation welding processes and battery technologies for spacecraft power systems.
**Requirements:**
- BS in Welding Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or related discipline
- 5+ years of experience with welding materials and processes, including parallel gap resistance spot welding
- Strong understanding of weld parameter development, metallurgy, and weld joint design; ability to assess tradeoffs between welding methods for aerospace applications
- Experience with robotic welding systems and automated welding integration
- Demonstrated ability to develop and qualify resistance weld profiles for battery cells and battery structural components
- Proficiency with root cause analysis methodologies (5 Whys, fishbone, fault-tree analysis) and corrective action implementation
- Familiarity with CAD tools and ability to interpret complex engineering drawings and GD&T
- Background in materials science or metallurgical behavior of weld joints preferred
- Demonstrated ability to operate outside comfort zones, innovate, and contribute to advancement of space-based power storage technologies
- U.S. Person or lawful permanent resident to comply with U.S. government space technology export regulations; may require current U.S. National Security clearance or eligibility for such clearance
