Manufacturing Engineer, Machining & Additive Associate

About the Role

This role is perfect for someone who thrives at the intersection of hands-on machining and high-level process ownership, creating complex, precision hardware for space. As an Associate, you will have an amazing opportunity to work on hard problems. Many past Interns and Associates have designed and tested hardware/software that is heading to space on our first satellite, and many of them are now full-time employees.

The Manufacturing Engineer focused on machining owns the entire lifecycle of our machined and additively manufactured components. This involves working closely with the mechanical engineering team to ensure parts are designed for manufacturability, developing production processes, tooling, and inspection procedures on the factory floor. This is a highly cross-functional role requiring both technical and hands-on skills to bridge the gap between design and production. A successful candidate will apply knowledge of GD&T, 5-axis CNC machining, additive manufacturing, and CMM inspection to solve difficult problems in real time and drive improvements that directly impact our ability to get to space faster.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and build the factory that builds satellites.
• Grow and improve.
• Design and implement lean systems for continuous improvement.
• Own 5S activities throughout the machine shop and additive manufacturing spaces.
• Work with design engineering teams to drive Design for Manufacturing (DFM), including participating in design reviews and assisting in tolerance stackup analysis.
• Develop and qualify manufacturing and inspection processes, including performing process validation, documenting procedures, and supporting processes in production.
• Operate, maintain, and develop processes for our in-house additive manufacturing capabilities, including Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) metal and advanced polymer printing systems.
• Write work instructions, work order templates, process specifications, and other build documents.
• Work with supplier quality and contract manufacturers to develop their manufacturing and quality processes and respond to questions and issues.
• Troubleshoot non-conformances on the floor to determine a disposition, root cause, and drive corrective actions.
• Assist in machining and programming operations as required for R&D and production.
• Assist in designing and creating fixturing for production.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Currently hold a Bachelor's of Science in Mechanical, Aerospace, Industrial, or Manufacturing Engineering.
• Hands-on experience making something cool such as cars, robots, etc.
• Hands-on experience machining parts, either manual or CNC.
• Proficiency in CAD software (Solidworks, Creo, NX, etc.).
• Experience with CAM software (Fusion, Esprit, Siemens NX, Magics, or similar).
• Competent in fundamentals of GD&T and engineering drawings.
• Must be onsite 5 days a week.

Bonus

• Hands-on experience working as a Machinist programming and running 5-axis parts.
• Exposure to or hands-on experience with additive manufacturing technologies, specifically metal LPBF and/or advanced polymer printing.
• Experience in writing technical documents.
• Knowledge of different manufacturing processes and their general quality capability.
• Mechanical design experience including creating solid models and prints.
• Hands-on experience reading and interpreting first article inspection reports, using precision hand tools, and implementing tolerance stackup analysis on parts.
• Experience implementing MES/MRP systems in a production environment.

Base Salary

• $1,925 — $1,925 USD per week.