Senior Supplier Development Engineer

Relativity Space • Long Beach, CA

95d • $120,000 - $154,000

About The Position

At Relativity Space, we’re building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Our Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. But that’s just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the known. Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Here, you're not just executing tasks; you're solving problems that haven’t been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. Whether you’re in propulsion, manufacturing, software, avionics, or a corporate function, 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.

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in supplier quality or supplier development engineering.
• In-depth knowledge of industry standards like AS9100, ISO 9001, and NASA quality standards.
• ERP/MRP system experience.
• Strong technical and experiential knowledge of manufacturing processes for space-quality hardware, including forming, cutting, machining, and assembly of various metals like stainless and carbon steels.
• Experience with supplier quality processes such as Production Part Approval Process (PPAP), Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP), and First Article Inspection Reports (FAIRs).
• Disciplined approach to problem solving, such as 8D methodology.
• Experience with New Product Development and PPAP implementation.
• Self-starter who can define and own a process from scratch and roll it out to a diverse team.
• Willingness to travel up to 50% of the work week when needed.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with high-volume inspection methods and data-driven acceptance methods.
• Strong knowledge of enterprise applications (i.e., PLM, ERP, MES) and proficient in data analysis.
• Self-starter that has demonstrated the ability to define and own a process from scratch and roll out that process through adept communication to a diverse team.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the technical point of contact for rocket parts and assemblies, resolving manufacturing and quality issues to protect production schedules.
• Lead new product introduction by selecting manufacturing methods, identifying suppliers, and developing scalable processes.
• Conduct design for manufacturing (DFM) reviews and apply APQP principles to ensure efficient, high-quality production from early development stages.
• Leverage experience with Production Part Approval Process (PPAP), First Article Inspection Reports (FAIRs), and 8D problem solving.
• Manage supplier sourcing and evaluations, issue corrective actions, and ensure compliance with AS9100, ISO 9001, and NASA quality standards.
• Create and develop specifications to communicate quality and manufacturing requirements across the supply base.
• Analyze defect data, lead root cause investigations (e.g., 8D, PPAP, FAIR), and implement corrective actions to improve supplier performance.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and equity.
• Generous PTO and sick leave policy.
• Parental leave.
• Annual learning and development stipend.

What This Job Offers

• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees