Senior Build Reliability Engineer, Vehicle
How this pay compares
This posting states $122k–$182k 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 within 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. ## About the Role - Ownership may include the following: Design: drawing standardization, DFM, and configuration management and control - Planning: work instruction review, process development, standard rework/repair documentation - Manufacturing: in-process build verification, coordinate of travelled work, etc. - Program: Nonconformance ticket processes, as-built verification, root cause/corrective action, etc. - Drive initiatives to facilitate quality in our growing launch vehicle program.
Some projects may include spearheading specification development, developing walk down checklists, supporting automation initiatives for quality inspection, assisting in DFM practices, etc. - Develop strong working relationships with Engineering, Additive, Manufacturing, Test, and Launch teams to ensure all company objectives can be met ## About You - Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering or other STEM field and m inimum of 5 years of experience acting as a Quality Engineer at a fast-paced manufacturing company - Extensive experience interfacing with design engineering, manufacturing, production and test personnel - In-depth knowledge of aerospace manufacturing/complex assembly practices and typical quality processes/controls - Working knowledge of typical PLM, MES, ERP and QMS software and p roficiency with Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) - Ability to solve a wide range of difficult problems in imaginative and practical ways and evaluate alternative solutions that may require coordination across multiple teams.
Ability to establish goals and objectives to complete projects. - Ability to effectively communicate and present information to team members, team leaders, and top management and w ell-versed in process development and first-time quality efforts Nice to haves but not required: - Working knowledge of product development methodologies such as Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP), Statistical Process Control (SPC) and Production Process Verification (PPV). - New product introduction (NPI) of hardware system into a manufacturing, test, and production system with proven success. - Familiarity with high-volume inspection methods and data-driven acceptance methods. - Understanding of AS9100/ISO9001 applications and practices for an aerospace program. - 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.
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 $122,000 - $182,000 USD
From Relativity Space's job posting, checked 7 Nov 2026. The employer's own page is the final word on requirements and availability.
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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).
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