Principal Industrial Engineer, Factory Systems Engineering

At Relativity Space, we have two audacious goals: to build the next great commercial launch company with Terran R and to become America's leading force in additive manufacturing innovation. Both contribute to our long-term vision of creating humanity’s industrial base on Mars, paving the way for interplanetary life to expand the possibilities of the human experience. This journey begins right here on Earth – where we design, build, and fly rockets to deliver customer payloads to orbit. Terran R, our medium-to-heavy lift reusable rocket, fulfills the growing demand for launch capacity, thanks to our iterative approach that accelerates design, testing, and development while minimizing costs. While our groundbreaking research and development in 3D printing pushes the boundaries of large-scale additive manufacturing.

Your journey with us is more than just a job – it’s an opportunity to shape the future of aerospace technology, additive manufacturing, and the human experience alongside a community of passionate, creative individuals. Join us on this extraordinary journey, as we work together to transform our vision into reality.

About the Team: 

The Manufacturing team owns all process development, fabrication strategy, and production equipment for Terran R, our next generation, reusable rocket. This team has a wide variety of responsibilities – from factory floor layout, to developing complex tooling for novel processes, and interfacing with our vehicle engineering team to heavily influence design of the rocket. We leverage our deep expertise to translate engineering requirements into highly optimized production lines, working cross functionally to consistently enhance the vehicle program. 

About the Role:

• Identify and analyze operational issues and develop innovative solutions to improve productivity, capacity, safety and quality across all aspects of the manufacturing value stream map. 
• Develop, deploy, and maintain company-wide initiatives and training programs around core industrial engineering fundamentals such a, but not limited to, continuous improvement, lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, value stream maps, Kaizen, and 5S. 
• Develop and execute long-term strategies for manufacturing scalability, leveraging automation and process optimization to meet increasing demands for high-rate vehicle production. 
• Drive rapid iteration on new production processes, balancing speed with manufacturing rigor to enable the efficient development and deployment of new aerospace products, including stage assembly and integration. 
• Collaborate closely with engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, and quality teams to ensure seamless integration of feedback, manufacturability, and production execution, with a focus on balancing efficiency with program state throughout the entire lifecycle of the vehicle; Be a championing of early adoption of these principles in our product lifecycle. 

About You:

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering, industrial engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related discipline. 
• 10+ years of experience in manufacturing or related industries, with at least 2 years in senior technical leadership role overseeing complex manufacturing system operations, preferably in aerospace, automotive, or other high-precision or high-production rate industries. 
• Demonstrated experience within the field of industrial engineering improving manufacturing workflows leading to real-world improvements. 
• Ability to extract and evaluate varying levels of statistical manufacturing data, driving insights into action 
• Demonstrated success building relationships with manufacturing teams, production lines, and systems to support high-rate production while maintaining flexibility for rapid iteration. Able to work well in an integrated collaborative team environment. 
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes, including structural integration, assembly, automation, supply chain integration, quality systems, and lean manufacturing principles. 

Nice to haves but not required: