Director of Manufacturing Engineering

Director of Manufacturing Engineering — Space Hardware

On-site, Seattle area | $215,000–$250,000 base + equity

ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY

A growing US space company is building a manufacturing organisation from the ground up to produce high-reliability RF, microwave, digital, and electronic assemblies for space. This role owns that build: the processes, the facility, the systems, and the team, taking hardware from prototype and low-rate initial production through to full-rate production without compromising space-grade reliability.

This is a rare brief, and a genuinely hands-on one. In the near term you’ll be on the floor standing up new manufacturing lines, building the fixtures, tooling, processes, and procedures, and implementing the production software systems the operation runs on. This is not a purely strategic director seat; it’s a build-it-yourself role for a technical manufacturing leader who wants to be in the detail now and grow the organisation, and their own scope, as production scales. If you’ve built and scaled complex manufacturing before and want to do it again with real ownership, this is that role.

THE MISSION CONTEXT

The company is moving from development into serial production of advanced space electronics, scaling proven technology into higher-rate, flight-ready manufacturing. It’s a pivotal growth stage, and this role is central to making that transition happen on quality, cost, and schedule.

WHAT YOU’LL OWN

Manufacturing standup & systems — Stand up new manufacturing lines and the production infrastructure around them, including the implementation of a new MES/PMP system (a current priority for the business). Establish capacity, staffing, equipment, tooling, and facility requirements. Develop and execute the overall manufacturing strategy, processes, and procedures. Set production schedules and ensure on-time delivery to programme milestones. Own facilities maintenance and the reliability of operations infrastructure.

Hands-on manufacturing engineering — Design and build the fixtures, tooling, and test equipment, and author the work instructions, travellers, routings, and work-cell layouts that make production repeatable. Partner with Hardware and Software Engineering, providing direct, hands-on Manufacturing Engineering input to product development to ensure high first-pass yield of complex, high-reliability assemblies from prototype through qualification and production. Implement DFM, DFA, and DFT. Build robust processes for PCB assembly, electronic box builds, RF/microwave assemblies, harnesses, mechanical integration, and system-level integration and test. Ensure processes suit space-qualified hardware: workmanship, contamination and ESD control, handling, cleanliness, and configuration management.

Operational excellence — Apply lean and continuous-improvement methods across medium-to-high-volume, high-complexity space hardware. Establish KPIs: first-pass yield, schedule adherence, cycle time, labour hours, rework, scrap, warranty. Drive continuous improvement in throughput, yield, cycle time, labour efficiency, and cost. Build scalable processes that move from prototype to higher-rate manufacturing without compromising reliability.

Quality & mission assurance — Partner with Quality to maintain compliance with space and aerospace requirements (AS9100, NASA, ECSS, IPC, J-STD-001, and related). Establish process controls, inspection points, acceptance criteria, and manufacturing records. Lead root-cause and corrective/preventive actions, and support customer audits, qualification, failure investigations, and production readiness reviews.

WHAT YOU’LL BRING

• Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing, Mechanical, Electrical, or Industrial Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 10+ years in electronics, aerospace, defence, space, RF, or other high-reliability manufacturing environments.
• Hands-on technical manufacturing strength: fixtures, tooling, processes, procedures, and line standup.
• Experience taking hardware from prototype/development through qualification into production.
• Experience standing up new manufacturing lines and implementing MES/PMP or ERP/MRP production systems.
• Manufacturing leadership or team-building experience, with the appetite to grow into a broader leadership mandate as the organisation scales.
• Strong understanding of configuration management, quality systems, nonconformance management, and hardware traceability.
• Eligible to obtain and maintain an active US Top Secret/SCI security clearance.

STRONGLY PREFERRED

• Space or aerospace manufacturing experience (satellite, launch, or spacecraft programmes).
• Manufacturing of PWB-based integrated electronics, and space-qualified RF, microwave, phased-array, AESA, radar, or related sensing electronics.
• Environmental qualification and acceptance testing (thermal cycling, thermal vacuum, vibration, shock, EMC/EMI).
• Familiarity with AS9100, IPC-A-610, J-STD-001, IPC/WHMA-A-620, NASA workmanship standards, and ECSS.
• Scaling manufacturing organisations and capacity, and vertically integrated manufacturing environments.
• Lean/Six Sigma or other continuous-improvement experience.

HOW YOU LEAD

A floor-first, hands-on leader who’s as comfortable building a fixture or debugging a process as setting strategy. You build a culture of quality, accountability, urgency, and continuous improvement; provide direct Manufacturing Engineering input alongside Hardware and Software Engineering; develop talent and clear career paths; run a data-driven operating cadence; and balance quality, schedule, cost, and technical risk in a fast-moving environment where products and processes are still evolving.

THE FIRST 12 MONTHS

You’ll embed DFM into baseline product development with engineering; design and implement custom tooling, fixtures, and test equipment to support LRIP transitioning to full-rate production; work with leadership on the new facility build-out and capital equipment deployment; partner with Engineering, PMO, and Finance to select and implement a new ERP/MES, leading the MES side; establish manufacturing processes, ownership, metrics, documentation, traceability, and configuration control; begin building the manufacturing organisation for the next stage of growth; and set a roadmap for increasing capacity while holding space-grade quality.

COMPENSATION

$215,000–$250,000 base per year, plus equity. Equity is a core part of the package, with meaningful grants that reward long-term impact and growth. The range reflects base pay only; actual offers vary with experience, specialised expertise, and business needs.

PRACTICAL REQUIREMENTS

This is an on-site role in the Seattle area. To conform to US Government space technology export regulations, including ITAR, candidates must be US citizens, lawful permanent residents, or refugees or asylees, or be eligible to obtain the required US Government authorisations.

THE HONEST PREVIEW

This is a build-from-the-ground-up role with real ownership and real impact. It will mean hard work, sometimes long hours, hands-on time on the floor, and a deep commitment to process and timelines. It suits a builder who wants to grow with the operation, not a sustainer looking after an established line.