Manufacturing Engineering Lead
Full-time onsite role in the San Francisco Bay Area
Industry: Aerospace / Space Manufacturing & Launch Systems
Partnering with a space company building lightweight propulsion and rocket systems to speed up and simplify orbital access. They focus on high-reliability hardware that must be fully traceable, rigorously tested, and ready for flight.
Hiring a player-coach Manufacturing Engineering Lead to guide a small team of early-career engineers while staying deeply hands-on. You’ll develop processes, tooling, and data systems for large-scale aerospace assemblies (think 50-foot-tall rockets) where every fastener, valve, and component is tracked end-to-end. Expect to mentor, define metrics, drive DFM, and ensure production is repeatable, safe, and scalable.
What you’ll do:
- Lead and mentor a tight group of manufacturing engineers with clear direction and technical support
- Build regulated, traceable processes for complex aerospace production
- Set up real-time data collection for in-process results, test data, and quality metrics
- Create detailed work instructions, process flows, and mBOMs with 100% traceability
- Partner with design, test, and quality teams to improve manufacturability and compliance
- Drive DFM reviews to boost efficiency, quality, and scalability
- Lead root cause analysis and corrective actions for non-conformances
- Work side-by-side with techs to validate tooling and test setups on the floor
- Design or spec fixtures, automation, and data systems
- Represent manufacturing in PDRs, CDRs, and readiness reviews
What you bring:
- 5+ years in manufacturing engineering, ideally aerospace or large precision assemblies
- Proven experience mentoring engineers while staying technical and hands-on
- Deep knowledge of DFM, process development, and production readiness for traceable products
- Skilled in capacity planning, process mapping, fault analysis, and metrics
- Comfortable with CAD, GD&T, and clear production documentation
- Strong root cause, PFMEA, and continuous improvement background
- Familiar with QMS and aerospace compliance standards
- Great at translating design intent into practical shop-floor execution
- Bachelor’s in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Aerospace, or related (or equivalent experience)
Nice to have:
- Work on large aerospace structures like airframes or propulsion
- Data acquisition and manufacturing metrics systems
- Low-to-medium volume, high-mix precision manufacturing
- CMMS or MES integration
- Control systems, PLCs, or Python for automation
Why this role:
- Shape the manufacturing foundation for advanced small launch vehicles
- Lead by doing in a hands-on shop where mentorship matters
- Build systems that guarantee full traceability and flight safety
- Work with a sharp, quality-focused team
- See your processes directly speed up production and enable launches
Location: San Francisco Bay Area Full-time onsite
Darwin Recruitment is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.
Adam Slade