Manager, Build Reliability Engineering

Relativity Space•Long Beach, CA

4h•$128,000 - $192,000

About The Position

Relativity Space is building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. The Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. Commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation. Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. You will be solving problems that haven’t been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. You’ll collaborate across teams, shape decisions, and see your work come to life in record time. Relativity is a place where creativity and technical rigor go hand in hand, and your voice will help define the stories we’re writing together. Now is a unique moment in time where it’s early enough to leave your mark on the product, the process, and the culture, but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The most meaningful work of your career is waiting. Join us. The Reliability team at Relativity Space ensures quality is built into every stage of the Terran R design and production process, embedding reliability from the very beginning. The team works directly with design, manufacturing, test, and launch teams to stay close to the hardware, understand constraints, and proactively shape decisions. As the program moves from development into production and scaled operations, this is the time to establish the right processes, controls, and inspections without slowing progress. The team plays a key role in balancing risk, fostering a culture of ownership, and making sure speed never comes at the cost of reliability. Success means creating a quality system that scales with the Terran R program and Relativity as a whole. Manage and develop a team of Build Reliability Engineers, setting priorities, reviewing technical work, staying hands-on with hardware and process, and building the skills and career paths of direct reports. Drive complex failure analysis using Fault Tree processes for critical manufacturing and field failures, ensuring corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) are validated and sustained to prevent recurrence. Integrate Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and predictive modeling into early-stage designs to identify and mitigate risks before production begins. Partner with NPI (New Product Introduction), Supply Chain, and Operations leadership to resolve reliability issues and influence supplier quality outcomes. Define and maintain reliability KPIs such as Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF), escapes to next operations, and first-pass yield, reporting progress and risk to cross-functional and executive stakeholder. Lead risk escalation efforts using disciplined problem-solving methods (e.g., 8D), and build and scale the processes and staffing plan for the function as Terran R moves into higher rate production.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Aerospace, Industrial, or a related technical field)
8+ years of experience in Build Reliability, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related discipline, with 2+ years of direct people management experience, including hiring, coaching, and performance management in a high-reliability industry
Hands-on manufacturing experience is required, with the ability to speak credibly to tooling, process, and build constraints
Proven track record leading complex, cross-functional programs end-to-end, including defining scope, coordinating across teams, and driving execution without direct authority over all contributors
Strong working knowledge of quality systems (AS9100/ISO 9001) and core quality tools (APQP, PPAP, FAIRs, PFMEA, Control Plans), with experience driving implementation and compliance
Demonstrated ability to build processes and teams from the ground up and deploy them across diverse groups, with strong people leadership skills and the ability to earn trust with engineering and manufacturing partners

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Aerospace, Industrial, or a related technical field)
Professional certification such as Six Sigma Black Belt, ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE), or PMP
Familiarity with high-volume inspection methods and data-driven acceptance criteria
Experience with enterprise applications (PLM, ERP, MES) and proficiency in data analysis
Comfortable operating in high ambiguity, setting direction where precedent or data is incomplete

Responsibilities

Manage and develop a team of Build Reliability Engineers, setting priorities, reviewing technical work, staying hands-on with hardware and process, and building the skills and career paths of direct reports
Drive complex failure analysis using Fault Tree processes for critical manufacturing and field failures, ensuring corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) are validated and sustained to prevent recurrence
Integrate Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and predictive modeling into early-stage designs to identify and mitigate risks before production begins
Partner with NPI (New Product Introduction), Supply Chain, and Operations leadership to resolve reliability issues and influence supplier quality outcomes
Define and maintain reliability KPIs such as Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF), escapes to next operations, and first-pass yield, reporting progress and risk to cross-functional and executive stakeholder
Lead risk escalation efforts using disciplined problem-solving methods (e.g., 8D), and build and scale the processes and staffing plan for the function as Terran R moves into higher rate production