Senior Manufacturing Specialist

About The Role

Every aircraft program has a gap between what engineering releases and what a technician can actually build. This role exists to close it. As a Senior Manufacturing Specialist, you are the connective tissue between design engineering and the shop floor. You'll take released CAD, drawings, and BOMs and turn them into work that a technician can execute the same way twice — routings, travelers, manufacturing BOMs, and step-level work instructions, backed by the tooling and fixtures needed to hold tolerance at rate. Then you'll stand at the bench during the first builds and find out where you got it wrong. This is a builder's job, not a desk job. You'll spend real time on the floor with a torque driver in your hand. You'll also spend real time redlining documentation, arguing a manufacturability issue back to a design engineer, and laying out a cell that flows. We are looking for two decades of aircraft manufacturing judgment — the kind you get from building airplanes, not from a classroom. No degree is required for this role. You'll work across the full arc of a product: new aircraft coming out of development, first articles, engineering builds, and platforms already running at rate. The processes you write and the tooling you build here are what we package and stand up at our forward production sites, so the work travels well beyond San Diego.

What You'll Do

• Turn released engineering data into production-ready manufacturing planning: work orders, routings and travelers, manufacturing BOMs, and detailed work instructions.
• Author and maintain step-level work instructions in our digital work instruction system, linked to CAD, and keep them current as the configuration moves.
• Interpret and enforce aerospace specifications governing manufacturing processes, engineering requirements, and quality systems; verify the build conforms to what the spec actually calls for.
• Plan and support first article and engineering builds. Work the bench alongside technicians, capture every deviation, and drive redlines and change actions to closure.
• Design, source, build, and prove out tooling, jigs, fixtures, and gages — from identifying the need through shop acceptance and first use.
• Perform hands-on aircraft assembly and integration: bonded and fastened composite and metallic structure, finishing, propulsion installation, and mechanical/electrical integration.
• Lay out and optimize work cells. Sequence standard work, balance stations against a target rate, and eliminate the motion, waiting, and rework nobody has gotten around to fixing.
• Own the manufacturing side of new product introduction — take a platform from design through NPI verification and into full rate production without dropping the process detail on the way.
• Partner with Quality on inspection methods, buy-off points, first article inspection, and nonconformance disposition. Build inspection requirements into the plan rather than bolting them on after.
• Train technicians to the documented method and confirm they can execute it. Where the method is wrong, fix the method.
• Feed manufacturability and producibility findings back to design engineering with specific, actionable recommendations — not a list of complaints.
• Package process, tooling, and documentation so a build can be stood up at a second site with training and setup only, no re-engineering.
• Support estimating and capacity work: touch labor content, scrap and yield, tooling requirements, and floor space for new and existing platforms.
• Uphold 5S, FOD and ESD control, and shop safety protocols daily, and hold others to the same standard.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of hands-on aircraft manufacturing experience covering mechanical assembly, adhesive bonding, fastening, finishing, and systems integration.
• Demonstrated experience creating manufacturing process documentation: work orders, routings and travelers, manufacturing BOMs, and work instructions that technicians actually use.
• Working knowledge of AS9100 and of QA inspection standards, techniques, and documentation.
• Proven ability to read, interpret, and apply aerospace specifications governing manufacturing processes, engineering requirements, and quality systems.
• Experience carrying a product from design through a new product introduction process and into full rate production.
• Practical command of lean principles, including work cell layout, standard work, and line balancing.
• Experience with the design, fabrication, and use of tools, jigs, fixtures, and gages.
• Fluent with engineering drawings, GD&T, exploded views, wiring diagrams, and released BOM structures.
• Comfortable working in the gap between engineering and production, and able to hold a technical position with engineers while staying credible with technicians.
• Capable of lifting up to 50–75 lbs, standing for extended periods, and working in a shop environment with appropriate PPE.
• U.S. Person status (Citizen or Permanent Resident) required due to ITAR regulations.
• A degree is not required. We are hiring for what you have built.

Preferred Qualifications

• Composite structures experience: layup, bonding, trimming, and the tooling that goes with it.
• UAV, experimental aircraft, or low-volume/high-mix aerospace production experience.
• Experience in a company transitioning from prototype builds to rate production.
• Familiarity with PLM and ERP/MRP systems and the handoff between them (we run Arena and Unanet).
• Exposure to digital work instruction platforms.
• Experience with additive manufacturing and CNC machining workflows, including post-processing.
• Formal lean or continuous improvement training, or a record of leading kaizen events.
• Experience supporting a second production site, a transferred line, or a deployable manufacturing capability.
• CAD proficiency sufficient to model and detail tooling.

Work Environment

Based at our Headquarters in San Diego, CA. This role is manufacturing-focused and requires daily on-site presence; remote work is not applicable. Must be able to stand for extended periods, lift up to 50–75 lbs, and wear appropriate PPE. Exposure to power tools, adhesives and resins, metal powders, high-temperature components, and 3D printing equipment. PPE is required and provided; adherence to all safety protocols and environmental controls is mandatory. Occasional travel (up to 15%) to partner sites, test sites, vendor facilities, or forward production locations, including international travel.

Compensation

US Base Salary Range: $130,000 - $145,000 USD. The posted salary range reflects an estimate based on a variety of compensation factors, including but not limited to relevant experience, education, certifications, specialized skills, geographic location, and business needs. Actual compensation may vary, and this range is subject to change as our compensation structure or market conditions evolve.

Benefits & Perks

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans
• 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan
• Unlimited PTO
• Extremely generous company holiday calendar, including a holiday hiatus in December
• Generous Parental Leave
• FSA, HSA, Hospital Indemnity insurance, Critical Illness insurance, Accident insurance
• Basic Life/AD&D, short-term and long-term disability insurance, 100% covered by Firestorm, with option to purchase additional life insurance
• Free mental health resources 24/7 including therapy and more
• Additional work-life services, such as free legal and financial support