{"id":3227559,"url":"https://alion.io/job/firefly-aerospace-composites-manufacturing-engineer-lead","title":"Composites Manufacturing Engineer Lead","company":{"id":63753,"name":"Firefly Aerospace","domain":"fireflyspace.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/firefly-aerospace-com","size_band":"1001-5000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Workday","truth_index":null},"role":"Industrial Engineering","role_family":"Industrial Engineering","seniority":"lead","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Briggs, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":108000,"max_usd":219000,"period":"year","method":"role_seniority_country_remote_cell","sample_n":1961},"experience_years_min":5,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T00:00:00Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-23","last_verified_at":"2026-10-28T06:07:03Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":5,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":5},"description":"ABOUT FIREFLY AEROSPACE\nFirefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company that enables our world to launch, land, and operate in space - anywhere, anytime. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the only commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the only company to achieve a successful Moon landing. Our launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles provide government and commercial customers with full mission services from low Earth orbit to the Moon and beyond. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.\nWe are seeking a highly motivated and dedicated Manufacturing Engineer to join our Structures Department. As part of a small, fast-paced, and passionate team you will be instrumental developing the world’s largest liquid fueled all composite rocket and implementing full rate production on our current vehicle and programs.\nYou will be responsible for developing tooling and fixtures for development programs as well as production programs, driving continuous improvement initiatives, optimizing processes, developing brand new processes, and providing technical expertise to enhance our production capabilities. This role will give you a wide variety of opportunities. This position requires a strong background in engineering, extensive experience with practical problem solving and the ability to learn quickly.\nRESPONSIBILITIES\nManage team member tasking and priorities based off schedule IMS needs.\nAct as Integrated Product Lead for Manufacturing team.\nTrain and coach team members on complex problem solving.\nLead the design and development of tooling, fixtures, and production equipment necessary for the manufacturing of aerospace composite components. This includes selecting appropriate materials and manufacturing processes to meet specific aerospace industry standards.\nContinuously evaluate and enhance manufacturing processes, tooling, and fixtures to optimize efficiency, quality, and cost-effectiveness. Implement improvements to increase production capacity and reduce cycle times.\nTake ownership of hardware development and production processes, ensuring adherence to schedules and driving continuous improvements.\nDevelop and implement innovative solutions for tooling and fixturing to enhance manufacturing efficiency and quality.\nAct as the primary point of contact for all aspects related to part expertise, including understanding intricacies of the hardware and providing guidance on its fabrication.\nSupport manufacturing floor operations by actively engaging with production teams to identify areas for improvement and implement necessary changes.\nCreate detailed work instructions and procedures to standardize manufacturing processes and ensure consistency in product quality.\nLead the resolution of nonconformance issues by assessing root causes and implementing corrective actions to bring parts back into compliance.\nDemonstrate exceptional problem-solving skills and a proactive approach to addressing challenges in a fast-paced environment.\nWork closely with cross-functional teams, including design, manufacturing, and quality, to ensure the seamless integration into the production process.\nManage and oversee manufacturing programs, ensuring they meet quality, cost, and schedule requirements.\nIdentify and address production challenges, implementing effective solutions to ensure the timely delivery of high-quality aerospace components.\nImplement and maintain rigorous quality control measures to meet industry standards and customer expectations.\nIdentify cost-saving opportunities and participate in cost reduction initiatives while maintaining product integrity.\nChampion a culture of continuous improvement, driving Lean and Six Sigma principles throughout the manufacturing process.\nMentor less experienced engineers\nQUALIFICATIONS\nRequired\nBachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related Engineering field.\n10 years experience in carbon fiber composite aerospace manufacturing\nStrong technical aptitude and ability to quickly become an expert on complex hardware.\nProficiency in CAD software for developing tooling and fixturing designs.\nExcellent communication skills and ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams.\nDemonstrated track record of driving process improvements and delivering results in a fast-paced environment.\nHigh level of initiative, self-motivation, and ability to thrive in a dynamic and challenging work environment.\nExcellent problem-solving and analytical abilities.\nDesired\n5+ years working in a aerospace manufacturing or engineering environment with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical, aerospace, or similar area.\nMaster's degree is a plus.\nAutomated Fiber Placement experience\nQuick-turn custom composite tooling design and fabrication\nSix Sigma or Lean manufacturing Black Belt certification\nFirefly offers outstanding benefits for our employees, including generous health, dental and vision plans with low plan deductibles, parental leave, relocation benefits, educational reimbursement, short term disability, and flexible PTO options.\nTo conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.\nFirefly Aerospace, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Firefly is governed based on merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.","description_format":"text","description_chars":5989,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":5,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":true,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Parental leave"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":true,"industries":["Space & Aerospace"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-25T06:26:11Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":45,"band":"ok","label":"Likely open","p_open":1,"p_active":0.812,"p_room":0.55,"age_days":5,"expected_fill_days":5,"reasons":["conf:5","velocity","win:tail","comp:brand"],"computed_at":"2026-10-28T05:59:10Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/firefly-aerospace-composites-manufacturing-engineer-lead","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/firefly-aerospace-composites-manufacturing-engineer-lead.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-28T11:13:31Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":14552,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-29T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":63753},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=63753"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Ffirefly-aerospace-composites-manufacturing-engineer-lead"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Ffirefly-aerospace-composites-manufacturing-engineer-lead"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Ffirefly-aerospace-composites-manufacturing-engineer-lead"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/firefly-aerospace-composites-manufacturing-engineer-lead\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Ffirefly-aerospace-composites-manufacturing-engineer-lead"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":3227559}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"fireflyspace.com","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":3227559},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); 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