Senior Supplier Development Engineer

Reposted 12 Hours Ago
Easy Apply
Be an Early Applicant
Long Beach, CA
In-Office
120K-154K Annually
Senior level
Aerospace • Hardware • Robotics • Software • Manufacturing
The Role
The role involves leading supplier development and quality assurance for rocket components, conducting DFM reviews, and managing supplier compliance with quality standards.
Summary Generated by Built In

At Relativity Space, we’re building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Our Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. But that’s just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the known.

Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Here, you're not just executing tasks; you're solving problems that haven’t been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. Whether you’re in propulsion, manufacturing, software, avionics, or a corporate function, you’ll collaborate across teams, shape decisions, and see your work come to life in record time. Relativity is a place where creativity and technical rigor go hand in hand, and your voice will help define the stories we’re writing together. Now is a unique moment in time where it’s early enough to leave your mark on the product, the process, and the culture, but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The most meaningful work of your career is waiting. Join us.

About the Team: 

The Quality team is focused on embedding quality into every part of the design and production process for Terran R. Not just inspecting at the end but influencing how things are built from the start. The team embeds themselves directly within design, manufacturing, test, and launch teams to stay close to the hardware, understand constraints, and proactively shape decisions. As we move beyond initial development into production and then scaled operations, now is the time to put the right processes, controls, and inspections in place without slowing down progress. The team plays a key role in balancing risk, driving a culture of ownership, and ensuring that speed doesn’t come at the cost of reliability. Success here means building a quality system that scales with the Terran R program and Relativity as a whole.

About the Role:

  • Serve as the technical point of contact for rocket parts and assemblies, resolving manufacturing and quality issues to protect production schedules.
  • Lead new product introduction by selecting manufacturing methods, identifying suppliers, and developing scalable processes.
  • Conduct design for manufacturing (DFM) reviews and apply APQP principles to ensure efficient, high-quality production from early development stages. Leverage experience with Production Part Approval Process (PPAP), First Article Inspection Reports (FAIRs), and 8D problem solving.
  • Manage supplier sourcing and evaluations, issue corrective actions, and ensure compliance with AS9100, ISO 9001, and NASA quality standards.
  • Create and develop specifications to communicate quality and manufacturing requirements across the supply base.
  • Analyze defect data, lead root cause investigations (e.g., 8D, PPAP, FAIR), and implement corrective actions to improve supplier performance.

About You:

  • Bachelor’s degree in engineering, quality, or related STEM field
  • You have 8+ years of experience in supplier quality or supplier development engineering, with in-depth knowledge of industry standards like AS9100, ISO 9001, and NASA quality standards and ERP/MRP system experience.
  • You have a strong technical and experiential knowledge of manufacturing processes for space-quality hardware, including forming, cutting, machining, and assembly of various metals like stainless and carbon steels.
  • You have experience with supplier quality processes such as Production Part Approval Process (PPAP), Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP), and First Article Inspection Reports (FAIRs) with a disciplined approach to problem solving, such as 8D methodology.
  • You have experience with New Product Development and PPAP implementation.
  • You are a self-starter who can define and own a process from scratch and roll it out to a diverse team, with willingness to travel up to 50% of the work week when needed.

Nice to haves but not required:  

  • Familiarity with high-volume inspection methods and data-driven acceptance methods
  • Strong knowledge of enterprise applications (i.e., PLM, ERP, MES) and proficient in data analysis
  • Self-starter that has demonstrated the ability to define and own a process from scratch and roll out that process through adept communication to a diverse team
  • Experience with New Product Development and PPAP implementation 

At Relativity Space, we are committed to transparency and fairness in our compensation practices. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors.
Compensation is only one part of our total rewards package. Relativity Space offers competitive salary and equity, a generous PTO and sick leave policy, parental leave, an annual learning and development stipend, and more! To see some of the benefits & perks we offer, please visit here.

Hiring Range:
$120,000$154,000 USD

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

If you need a reasonable accommodation, please contact us at [email protected].


Top Skills

As9100
Erp
Iso 9001
Mrp
Am I A Good Fit?
beta
Get Personalized Job Insights.
Our AI-powered fit analysis compares your resume with a job listing so you know if your skills & experience align.

The Company
HQ: Long Beach, CA
1,800 Employees
Year Founded: 2016

What We Do

Relativity Space is on a mission to better connect humanity to space and the universe beyond our planet. Our medium-to-heavy lift reusable rocket, Terran R, will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. But that’s just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the known.

Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Here, you're not just executing tasks; you're solving problems that haven’t been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. Whether you’re in propulsion, manufacturing, software, avionics, or a corporate function, you’ll collaborate across teams, shape decisions, and see your work come to life in record time.

Gallery

Gallery
Gallery
Gallery
Gallery
Gallery
Gallery
Gallery
Gallery

Relativity Space Offices

OnSite Workspace

At Relativity Space, we are an office-first company. We believe our best work happens in person—where collaboration is faster, problem-solving is sharper, and ideas flow more freely.

Typical time on-site: None
HQLong Beach, CA
Cape Canaveral, FL
Center, MS
Kent, WA
Washington, DC
Learn more

Similar Jobs

Relativity Space Logo Relativity Space

Executive Assistant

Aerospace • Hardware • Robotics • Software • Manufacturing
Easy Apply
In-Office
Long Beach, CA, USA
115K-147K Annually

Relativity Space Logo Relativity Space

Process Engineer

Aerospace • Hardware • Robotics • Software • Manufacturing
Easy Apply
In-Office
Long Beach, CA, USA
112K-143K Annually

Relativity Space Logo Relativity Space

Senior Manager, Vehicle Structures Design Engineering

Aerospace • Hardware • Robotics • Software • Manufacturing
Easy Apply
In-Office
Long Beach, CA, USA
216K-235K Annually

Relativity Space Logo Relativity Space

Robotics Engineer

Aerospace • Hardware • Robotics • Software • Manufacturing
Easy Apply
In-Office
Long Beach, CA, USA
132K-171K Annually

Sign up now Access later

Create Free Account

Please log in or sign up to report this job.

Create Free Account