Avionics Manufacturing Specialist (PCBA)

Avionics Manufacturing Specialist

Castelion is bringing a new approach to defense development and production: one that focuses on short, iterative design cycles, rapid testing in development, and modern commercial manufacturing strategies for production at scale. We're designing, building, and testing next generation long range strike weapons systems to give America and its Allies a definitive edge and deter future conflicts.

Castelion is looking for an Avionics Manufacturing Specialist, reporting to the Lead Manufacturing Engineer of Avionics, to support the development and production of systems required for long-range hypersonic strike vehicles. This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Torrance, California facility. As an Avionics Manufacturing Specialist, you will work closely with engineering and manufacturing teams to execute highly technical electrical builds, while owning critical aspects of tooling, process development, work instruction creation, and test infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• Work with avionics engineering by rapidly iterating electronic components and cables
• Construct wire harnesses, perform PCBA rework, assemble and test racks/systems, electro-mechanical units, and test equipment
• Own the development, maintenance, and continuous improvement of manufacturing tooling
• Create, document, and maintain detailed work instructions to ensure repeatable, high-quality builds
• Drive process improvements focused on efficiency, repeatability, and first-pass yield
• Own portions of test infrastructure, including setup, documentation, and continuous improvement of test processes and equipment
• Create and document testing systems and cable diagrams according to engineer-selected testing gear
• Collaborate closely with engineering to transform concepts into manufacturable solutions
• Monitor work progress against standards and deliver on schedule
• Interpret and execute work from drawings, procedures, and regulated documentation
• Understand complex cable harnesses, wiring diagrams, and GD&T
• Verify flight hardware and document results
• Support transition from development builds into initial production
• Contribute to initiatives that improve operational efficiency

Basic Qualifications

• 5+ years of avionics technician or manufacturing experience
• Experience reading PCBA schematics and executing rework
• Capability to rework 0201 SMD and BGA components in tight spaces
• Experience reading wiring harness drawings and building flight or lab hardware
• Knowledge of industry standards such as IPC-610 and IPC-620
• Proficient with test equipment such as multimeters, oscilloscopes, and signal generators
• Experience creating clear, effective work instructions for manufacturing or assembly processes
• Experience improving manufacturing or assembly processes (yield, efficiency, or repeatability)
• Experience owning or supporting electrical or avionics test processes and infrastructure
• Demonstrated direct or indirect leadership

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Experience in a research and development environment
• Previous involvement in a high-speed production environment, handling flight hardware
• Prior involvement in a high-output environment, involving hands-on experience in constructing cables, electro-mechanical devices, or building prototypes
• Ability to acclimate to frequently changing assignments and a fast-paced working environment
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral, along with effective teamwork abilities
• Superb focus and attention to detail, with remarkable work efficiency and accuracy
• Experience with soldering PCBAs, including soldering in tight spaces such as 0402 packages and high-density ICs, installing jumpers, and performing dead-bugging
• Expertise in manufacturing and repairing intricate testing systems
• Familiarity with Atlassian tools such as SVN, Confluence, and JIRA
• Basic comprehension of electronic principles and theory
• Skills in project management

Additional Requirements

• Must be willing to work extended hours and/or weekends as needed
• Must be able to travel up to 30% of the time

Leadership Qualities

• Bias to Action and Creative Problem Solving . Desire and experience questioning assumptions in ways that lead to break through ideas that are ultimately implemented. Successfully bring in applicable processes/concepts/materials from other industries to achieve efficiency gains. Ability to personally resolve minor issues in development without requiring significant support.
• High Commitment, High Initiative . A successful candidate will have a genuine passion for Castelion's mission and consistently look for ways to contribute to the company's technical goals and prevent hardware blockers. Ability to work in a fast paced, autonomously driven, and demanding atmosphere. Strong sense of accountability and integrity.
• Clear Communicator. Proactively communicates blockers. Trusted in previous roles to be voice of company with regulators, suppliers, gate keepers and customers. Capable of tactfully managing relationships with stakeholders to achieve company-desired outcomes without compromising relationships. Emails, IMs and verbal interactions are logical, drive clarity, and detailed enough to eliminate ambiguity.

ITAR Requirements

• To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Employment with Castelion is governed on the basis of competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

All employees are granted long-term stock incentives as part of their employment as Castelion. All employees receive access to comprehensive medical, vision, and dental insurance, and the company offers four weeks of paid time off per year.