Staff Build Reliability Engineer, Clean Line

Relativity Space•Long Beach, CA

18d•$143,000 - $215,000

About The Position

Serve as the company-wide technical authority for precision cleaning, fluid system cleanliness, contamination control, passivation, and related special processes. Establish the standards and technical strategy needed to ensure hardware quality and reliability from piece-part manufacturing through vehicle integration, testing, and launch. Own the special-process control framework, including process qualification, equipment validation, statistical process control, inspection requirements, auditing, and governance. Lead the development, industrialization, and scaling of precision clean-line capabilities from early development through rate production, including decisions about process architecture, equipment selection, make-versus-buy strategy, factory integration, and production readiness. Define company-wide engineering specifications, cleanliness acceptance criteria, inspection methods, and technician training and certification standards. Drive resolution of complex cleanliness, contamination, and special-process challenges through root-cause investigations, corrective actions, and technical risk-reduction efforts across Design, Manufacturing, Integration, Test, Quality, and Production teams. Act as a senior technical leader across the organization, influencing engineering and manufacturing decisions, identifying and mitigating build reliability risks, and mentoring engineers and technicians to support consistent cleanliness and quality throughout the vehicle lifecycle.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
At least 8 years of progressive process engineering experience in aerospace, high-reliability manufacturing, or a similarly complex production environment.
At least 5 years of direct experience developing, owning, or scaling precision cleaning, fluid system cleaning, clean-line, contamination control, or comparable aerospace special processes.
Deep expertise in special-process control, including process qualification, validation, contamination prevention, statistical process control, inspection methodology, process capability, and continuous improvement.
Demonstrated experience establishing and enforcing technical standards, cleanliness requirements, and quality controls across multiple stages of hardware manufacturing, assembly, integration, and testing.
Ability to independently resolve complex cross-functional technical challenges, lead failure investigations, identify systemic quality risks, and implement corrective actions that improve hardware reliability and manufacturing consistency.
Strong technical leadership and communication skills, including the ability to influence engineering and manufacturing decisions, establish accountability across teams, and challenge processes or decisions to protect hardware quality and mission success.

Nice To Haves

M.S. or Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or a related technical discipline.
Experience establishing precision cleaning, contamination control, or special-process capabilities for propulsion systems, fluid systems, or flight hardware.
Familiarity with IEST-STD-CC1246 or other aerospace cleanliness, contamination control, and quality standards.
Experience developing and implementing enterprise-wide special-process governance, qualification, or certification programs.
Experience supporting hardware cleanliness and contamination control requirements from component manufacturing through vehicle assembly, integration, testing, and launch operations.

Responsibilities

Establish company-wide standards and technical strategy for precision cleaning, fluid system cleanliness, contamination control, passivation, and associated special processes.
Own the special-process control framework, including process qualification, equipment validation, statistical process control, inspection requirements, auditing, and governance.
Lead development, industrialization, and scaling of precision clean-line capabilities from early development through rate production.
Make decisions regarding process architecture, equipment selection, make-versus-buy strategy, factory integration, and production readiness.
Define engineering specifications, cleanliness acceptance criteria, inspection methods, and technician training and certification standards.
Lead root-cause investigations and corrective actions for complex cleanliness, contamination, and special-process challenges.
Coordinate technical risk reduction across Design, Manufacturing, Integration, Test, Quality, and Production teams to prevent defects and protect flight hardware reliability.
Influence engineering and manufacturing decisions and identify and mitigate build reliability risks.
Mentor engineers and technicians and promote consistent execution of cleanliness and quality standards throughout the vehicle lifecycle.