Staff Build Reliability Engineer, Clean Line

Relativity Space•Long Beach, CA

19d•$143,000 - $215,000

About The Position

The Staff Build Reliability Engineer, Clean Line serves as Relativity Space’s company-wide technical authority for precision cleaning, fluid system cleanliness, contamination control, passivation, and related special processes. The role establishes the technical standards and strategy needed to ensure hardware quality and reliability from piece-part manufacturing through vehicle integration, testing, and launch. The position owns the special-process control framework, including qualification, equipment validation, statistical process control, inspection, auditing, and governance. It leads development and scaling of precision clean-line capabilities, making decisions about process architecture, equipment, make-versus-buy strategy, factory integration, and production readiness. The engineer defines company-wide specifications, cleanliness acceptance criteria, inspection methods, and technician training and certification standards. The role also leads investigations and corrective actions for complex cleanliness, contamination, and special-process issues, working across Design, Manufacturing, Integration, Test, Quality, and Production. As a senior technical leader, this person influences engineering and manufacturing decisions, mitigates build reliability risks, and mentors 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.
8+ years of progressive process engineering experience in aerospace, high-reliability manufacturing, or a similarly complex production environment.
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 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.
Strong technical leadership and communication skills, including the ability to influence engineering and manufacturing decisions, establish accountability across teams, and challenge processes or decisions when necessary 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

Serve as the company-wide technical authority for precision cleaning, fluid system cleanliness, contamination control, passivation, and associated special processes.
Establish and 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.
Make decisions concerning 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 cleanliness, contamination, and special-process challenges through root cause investigations, corrective actions, and technical risk reduction.
Collaborate across Design, Manufacturing, Integration, Test, Quality, and Production teams to prevent defects and protect flight hardware reliability.
Influence engineering and manufacturing decisions, identify and mitigate build reliability risks, and mentor engineers and technicians.