Manager, Manufacturing Engineering

Quantum Space•Rockville, MD

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Quantum Space is seeking a hands-on Manager of Manufacturing Engineering to lead manufacturing engineering for its Ranger spacecraft program. The role will guide production lines as Ranger transitions from development to rate production, ensuring component fabrication, subassembly build, and final assembly, integration, and test are conducted safely and to high standards of quality and throughput. The manager will oversee equipment and tooling design, facility and clean room planning, staffing, leadership development, and new product introduction. The role partners with engineering, supply chain, and production, providing early, data-backed manufacturing input to design teams in Rockville and supporting the transition to rate production in Tulsa. The manager will lead manufacturing engineers, test engineers, and technicians across the product life cycle and serve as a technical decision maker on manufacturing techniques, tooling, and test methods.

Requirements

Meet one of the following experience and education pathways: an advanced degree and at least 2 years of experience in engineering, production, manufacturing, or operations; a bachelor's degree and at least 4 years of experience in one or more of those areas; or at least 8 years of experience in one or more of those areas.
At least 2 years of direct leadership or management experience leading engineers.
Willingness to work flexible and/or extended hours to meet role needs, including launch campaigns and delivery milestones.
Ability to lift 25 pounds unassisted and wear clean room garments for extended periods.
Ability to travel for short business trips to Tulsa, Hawthorne, suppliers, and customer sites as needed, up to 20%.
Must meet U.S. Government space technology export-control eligibility requirements: be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, protected individual under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain required U.S. Department of State authorizations.

Nice To Haves

At least 4 years of leadership experience in a manufacturing environment and experience transitioning products from development into production.
Experience establishing a new production line or facility, including layout, equipment selection, and clean room or ESD-controlled areas.
Comfort working on the factory floor and identifying and executing production and manufacturing efficiency improvements.
Experience with process development and qualification, new product introduction, capacity and resource planning, and Lean manufacturing.
Experience with design for manufacturability, assembly, reliability, testability, and source-ability.
Familiarity with aerospace quality systems such as AS9100 and mission assurance practices for flight hardware.
Ability to solve complex problems with little to no supervision, on schedule, individually or as part of an integrated team, using appropriate problem-solving tools.
Ability to influence other organizations using sound engineering and business rationale and data.
Ability to organize, assign, and track work and deliverables.
Ability to develop manufacturing strategies based on specialized business needs.
Experience driving a high-impact production or company-wide initiative affecting reliability, people, or efficiency.
Exceptional achievements improving production through process improvements while focusing on product reliability and mission success.
Ability to work effectively in an integrated team and interact daily with technicians, engineers, and managers.
Demonstrated ability to mentor and coach developing leaders.
Experience in one or more of the following: spacecraft or satellite assembly, integration, and test; propulsion system and pressure vessel build, including tank fabrication, welding, and proof and leak testing; precision machining of structural and propulsion components; composite and metallic spacecraft structures; electrical harness fabrication and avionics or printed circuit board assembly; or environmental testing such as thermal vacuum, vibration, and EMI/EMC.

Responsibilities

Build, lead, and grow a team of manufacturing engineers, test engineers, and technicians as Ranger progresses from first article in Rockville to rate production in Tulsa.
Lead the team through all phases of the Ranger product life cycle while upholding standards, requirements, and mission assurance expectations.
Develop and implement business, manufacturing, and production metrics to measure and optimize productivity.
Advise and make technical decisions on manufacturing techniques, tooling, and test methods for spacecraft structures, propulsion assemblies, avionics, and harnesses.
Maintain a strong safety focus, including for pressure systems, propellant handling, and lifting operations.
Lead continuous improvement projects using appropriate metrics and data, and develop improvement or mitigation plans to raise performance.
Work with cross-functional teams to increase production throughput and meet delivery targets while maintaining quality.
Recruit, develop, train, and retain leaders and individual contributors.
Drive cost reduction across design, production, and supply chain processes.
Monitor and communicate area status, readiness, and risks to leadership.
Partner with design engineering to ensure new product development supports manufacturability, assembly, and testability.
Implement equipment maintenance schedules and ensure spares availability to support uptime and output.