Gimbal Production & Manufacturing Engineer

Responsibilities

• Define tooling, fixtures, calibration equipment, and test stations required for gimbal assembly and alignment.
• Support layout planning for the manufacturing area, including material flow, ESD safe workspaces and environmental controls.
• Translate existing production workflows into a new facility, ensuring consistency, repeatability and compliance with established quality standards.
• Create detailed work instructions, assembly guides, torque specifications, and inspection criteria.
• Lead equipment qualification, including installation, validation, and operator training.
• Oversee precision assembly of optical, mechanical and electronic subsystems.
• Develop alignment procedures for EO/IR sensors, IMU’s and stabilization axis to meet line of sight accuracy and jitter performance requirements.
• Implement best practices for handling sensitive optical components and ruggedized payload housings.
• Work closely with Systems & Test Engineering to ensure production tests correlate with field performance.
• Drive design for manufacture and design for assembly improvements in collaboration with design teams.
• Implement lean manufacturing principles to reduce cycle time, improve yield and enhance reliability.
• Partner with supply chain teams to qualify vendors for components.
• Work with quality and integration teams to ensure seamless transition from prototype to production of integration components.
• Provide technical support to field teams and customers as needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Mechatronics, Robotics or related field.
• 2-4 years of progressive experience in aircraft or UAS payload system design, integration or support.
• Hands on experience in manufacturing or production engineering for electromechanical or optical systems.
• Familiarity with stabilized gimbal systems, EO/IR sensors, or ISR payloads.
• Experience with creating work instructions, test procedures and process documentation.
• Familiarity with UAV payload integration, avionics interfaces or embedded systems.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience standing up new production lines or transferring manufacturing processes between facilities.
• Experience with Lean, Six Sigma or similar continuous improvement methodologies.
• Familiarity with UAV Payload Integration or avionics interfaces.
• Experience with ruggedized or aerospace-grade manufacturing environments.
• Knowledge of defense ISR mission requirements and CONOPS