Quality Specialist II, First Shift
- Days
- IPC-A-610
- FAA A&P certificate
How this pay compares
This posting states $79.9k–$120k a year. Open quality engineer jobs in California post a median of $148k a year, the middle half $122k–$166k, across 128 jobs that state their pay, so this one is below the middle half of what they post.
Quality engineers and inspectors in California: pay by town and employer
About the job
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 Reliability team at Relativity Space ensures quality is built into every stage of the Terran R design and production process, embedding reliability from the very beginning. The team works directly with design, manufacturing, test, and launch teams to stay close to the hardware, understand constraints, and proactively shape decisions.
As the program moves from development into production and scaled operations, this is the time to establish the right processes, controls, and inspections without slowing progress. The team plays a key role in balancing risk, fostering a culture of ownership, and making sure speed never comes at the cost of reliability.
Success means creating a quality system that scales with the Terran R program and Relativity as a whole. This is a first-shift position with a standard schedule of Monday through Friday, 5:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. PT.
The role is structured around a 50-hour workweek, including 10 guaranteed overtime hours each week. ## About the Role - Perform hands-on inspections (in-process, final, and borescope/FOD) on propulsion components, large structures, mechanical assemblies, and production hardware during weekend operations - Review hardware requirements to determine pass/fail status, documenting outcomes, non-conformances, and deviations - Support drawing standardization, DFM, and configuration management and control - Knowledge of aerospace manufacturing/complex assembly practices and typical quality processes/controls - Develop and implement inspection plans across incoming, in-process, and final inspection stages in alignment with Product Quality Engineering requirements - Support quality infrastructure and compliance, including calibration management, internal audits, and deep analysis of traceability data to identify trends and mitigate quality risks ## About You - 5+ years of experience in inspection or quality-focused aerospace manufacturing roles, supporting production hardware within structured production environments - Expert proficiency with calibrated metrology equipment and precision hand tools, including calipers, micrometers, bore gages, and related precision measurement tools - Strong technical interpretation skills, including GD&T per ASME Y14.5, engineering drawings, wire diagrams, work instructions, and CAD models - Demonstrated ability to perform thorough inspections and ensure strict compliance with quality standards, hardware requirements, and regulatory requirements - Hands-on experience with MRB processes, including identification, inspection, documentation, and disposition of non-conforming hardware - Clear communicator able to interface across inspectors, engineers, production, and quality stakeholders ## Nice to Haves, but Not Required - Certifications such as ASQ CQE/CQIA, IPC-A-610, or IPC-A-620 - Prior experience inspecting COPVs and/or avionics hardware, including electrical connectors, power supplies, PCBs, wire harnesses, and integrated assemblies within regulated manufacturing environments - Proficiency with manufacturing and quality systems, including Jira, MES, ERP, Teamcenter, and CAD - Demonstrated ability to take initiative, lead projects, or influence quality improvement efforts without formal authority - Highly organized and capable of bringing structure to ambiguous or previously undefined environments - Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) certification 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 $38.40 - $57.60 USD
From Relativity Space's job posting, checked 7 Nov 2026. The employer's own page is the final word on requirements and availability.
Selected agencies hiring now
Moseley Technical ServicesEngineering and technical staffing agency
Engineering and technical staffing firm in Huntsville, Alabama, placing engineers and A&P, sheet metal, CNC and quality technicians.
Places: Propulsion, Mechanical, Avionics, RF & Payloads
Contract Professionals Inc (CPI)Engineering and technical staffing agency
Aerospace and defense staffing firm in Waterford, Michigan, placing engineers, maintenance technicians, mechanics, welders and CNC machinists.
Places: Propulsion, Mechanical, Avionics, RF & Payloads
These agencies and apps pay SpaceJobs.Now a referral fee when someone we introduce is placed or signs up. It costs you nothing and never changes your pay. Employers' own jobs below keep their own order.
Sponsored jobs from job networks, which pay SpaceJobs.Now when you click one.
Free tools for this application: check your resume against this job, answer the application's questions or see every free tool.
New quality and mission assurance jobs in space in California, by email
One email a week with the newest ones, straight from the employers' own careers sites, with the pay each posting states. Free, stop anytime.
About Relativity Space
Builds reusable rockets that make access to space more reliable and routine.
Pay on its listings: 99.7% of its open jobs state an hourly rate
How it pays: Paid as an employee on Relativity Space's own payroll (salaried or hourly, as each posting states).
More open jobs at Relativity Space
- Vehicle Structures Engineer I (Heat Shield)$90,000–$136,000/yr
- EHS Specialist II - Environmental Compliance$74,000–$112,000/yr
- Senior Manufacturing Engineer, Mechanisms$122,000–$182,000/yr
- Propulsion Integration & Test Engineer I, First shift$93,000–$139,000/yr
- Relativity Space Hiring Event | Long Beach | Nov. 19th
- Staff Technical Product Manager, Configuration Management$175,000–$263,000/yr
More quality and mission assurance jobs in space
- Metrology Engineer$68,000–$80,000/yr
- Sr. Equipment Safety Engineer
- Process Safety Engineer
- Senior Supplier Quality Engineer$117,500–$185,500/yr
- EHS Specialist II - Environmental Compliance$74,000–$112,000/yr
- Program Quality Engineering Asc Mgr - L4$118,000–$219,100/yr
A quality or mission assurance professional?
One profile for every employer here. Space companies and their recruiters ask us for people with a specific degree, clearance, specialty or location: add yours once, and when a job fits, we introduce you, only with your yes. Free.
Relativity Space openings, sent to you weekly
Each week we send the newest postings from Relativity Space's own careers site, along with similar openings at other space employers. It costs nothing and you can stop anytime.