Staff Manufacturing Engineer

The Company
Astra’s mission is to Improve Life on Earth from Space® by creating a healthier and more connected planet. Today, Astra offers one of the lowest cost-per-launch dedicated orbital launch services of any operational launch provider in the world, and one of the industry’s first flight-proven electric propulsion systems for satellites, Astra Spacecraft Engine™. Astra delivered its first commercial launch to low Earth orbit in 2021, making it the fastest company in history to reach this milestone, just five years after it was founded in 2016. Astra (NASDAQ: ASTR) was the first space launch company to be publicly traded on Nasdaq.
The Opportunity
The Astra Staff Manufacturing Engineer is responsible for the manufacture of low volume/high mix space products hardware; specifically, launch vehicles and spacecraft engines.
Collaborating closely with a cohort of electrical, mechanical, test engineers, technicians, program managers, leadership, and system engineers, you will be responsible for the manufacturability and test of spacecraft subsystems such as PCBAs, ion thrusters, feed systems and the launch vehicle.
You will come with a strong desire to be hands-on when determining if an issue is design, assembly, or supplier quality related. You will drive continuous improvement projects to ensure that safety, reliability, and process capability goals are achieved, maintained, and improved. You will be a vital part of the relationship between our development and production teams.
To be successful in this role, you need to be a self-starter that can thrive in ambiguity, identify problems and quickly resolve them, and provide definition to the previously undefined. You should have a commitment to quality and the discipline required to achieve it.
This position reports to the Director of Automation & Manufacturing Engineering.

How You'll Fulfill Your Mission

• Own and drive design for manufacturability (DFM) of assemblies and/or subassemblies from design release through ATP Test—lay out the build flow to ensure an efficient, high-quality product flow capable of scaling in time sensitive environments.
• Represent the manufacturing organization in cross-functional teams to down-select concepts that are being evaluated for their feasibility.
• Generate mBOMs, CONOPS, build schedule, and consistently maintain throughout the development process.
• Create work instructions, specifications, and best practices across multiple high-fidelity processes. Help standardize processes across the manufacturing team.
• Implement new manufacturing capabilities and think creatively to resolve and challenge conflicting requirements.
• Ability to work with and train technicians in a hands-on hardware environment, writing detailed work instructions and process plans.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives and implementation of new capital equipment for establishing expanded production processes.
• Responsible for Issue Management, tracking failure modes, addressing root cause, and verifying closure of issues from assigned owners.
• Assist with design, analysis, and integration of sub-assemblies to resolve off-nominal non-conformance and develop sustainable repair procedures.
• Develop production testing processes and requirements for high pressure gas systems to support high rate production testing targets.
• Adapt to evolving design and production challenges.

Why We Value You

• 5+ years of relevant experience, including experience leading electrical and/or mechanical engineering designs from inception to production
• Expertise in design for manufacturability and design for assembly, successfully taking products through development, testing, and production
• Familiarity with spacecraft and/or launch vehicle design and test obtained through educational training and/or on the-job experience in a related field
• Experience with capacity modeling, process mapping and fault analysis
• Demonstrated experience with CAD and geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) experience
• Strong interpersonal and collaborative skills, enthusiasm for the team's spirit of innovation and mission of improving manufacturing for spacecraft and launch vehicles
• Excellent communication skills (both written and verbal)
• Ability to succinctly present recommendations to stakeholders, the customer, and leadership
• Ability to make appropriate assumptions and perform trade studies using first principles and engineering fundamentals to create rationale for clear recommendations
• Experience prioritizing and executing tasks in a high-pressure environment with ongoing drive for continuous improvement in all aspects of work
• Willing to work extended hours and/or weekends as