Supplier Development Engineer, Mechanical

K2 Space•Los Angeles, CA

11h

About The Position

K2 is building the largest and highest-power satellites ever flown, unlocking performance levels previously out of reach across every orbit. Backed by $450M from leading investors including Altimeter Capital, Redpoint Ventures, T. Rowe Price, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Alpine Space Ventures, and others – with an additional $500M in signed contracts across commercial and US government customers – we’re mass-producing the highest-power satellite platforms ever built for missions from LEO to deep space. The rise of heavy-lift launch vehicles is shifting the industry from an era of mass constraint to one of mass abundance, and we believe this new era demands a fundamentally different class of spacecraft. Engineered to survive the harshest radiation environments and to fully capitalize on today’s and tomorrow’s massive rockets, K2 satellites deliver unmatched capability at constellation scale and across multiple orbits. With multiple launches planned through 2026 and 2027, we're Building Bigger to develop the solar system and become a Kardashev Type II (K2) civilization. If you are a motivated individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment and you're excited about contributing to the success of a groundbreaking Series C space startup, we’d love for you to apply. The Role As the Supplier Development Engineer, Mechanical within the Supply Chain organization at K2 Space, you will be responsible for defining and implementing supplier development strategies for the company. In this role, work closely with engineering, manufacturing, and procurement teams to grow and mature suppliers into strategic partners in support of company critical missions. You will own the continuous evaluation of suppliers, working with them to develop their process and improving their ability to support the company’s needs. This role will have high visibility and impact across the organization. Success in this role requires the use of strong communication skills and commodity management experience to systematically grow and mature K2 Space’s supply chain.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline
3+ years in a quality, reliability, supply chain, or engineering role
Strong understanding of quality standards and tools (ISO 9001, AS9100, PPAP)
Experience managing vendors, suppliers, and strategic technical partners
Ability to travel up 25-50% of the time

Nice To Haves

Expert level knowledge in mechanical commodities such as machined parts, mechanisms, and composites
Knowledge of Lean concepts
Experience in a new product introduction environment
Experience in root cause and corrective action activities
Strong written and verbal communication skills
Experience with data analytics and SQL

Responsibilities

Assess supplier capabilities, technologies, and their ability to successfully execute manufacturing requirements.
Manage Production Part Approval Process (PPAP), rate, and reliability campaigns to enable production.
Lead containments, issue ticket resolution, and supplier corrective action efforts.
Evaluate supplier quality performance and drive improvements, using scorecards and audits, to ensure compliance to quality standards.
Provide program leadership necessary inputs to ensure that product quality, delivery, and cost achieve business and customer expectations.
Interface with responsible engineering, production teams, and procurement to define production roadmaps aligned with company goals.