Manufacturing Engineer – UAS, Electrical Focus

Position Title:

Manufacturing Engineer – UAS, Electrical Focus

Location:

Irvine, CA

Work Arrangement: 6am – 3pm, on-site

The Manufacturing Engineer supports day‑to‑day production of electro‑mechanical assemblies, avionics assemblies, and wire harnesses within our airborne systems manufacturing environment. This role works closely with assembly technicians, avionics technicians, and design engineering to document build processes, resolve production‑floor issues, and drive continuous improvements under an AS9100 compliant QMS. The Manufacturing Engineer ensures that work instructions, tooling, and test workflows are clear, robust, and production ready as products transition from engineering prototypes into stable, repeatable builds.

This role is well‑suited for an engineer with a strong electrical background who enjoys hands‑on manufacturing, problem‑solving, and working directly on the production floor.

Electrical Manufacturing Support & Documentation

• Create, maintain, and redline work instructions, assembly routers, and build documentation to ensure consistent, high-quality production.
• Train assembly and avionics technicians on new or updated build and test instructions.
• Review and update production drawings in collaboration with Design Engineering.
• Support technicians and Quality in generating redlines, nonconformance reports (NCRs), and build discrepancies.

Tooling, Fixtures & Assembly Test Support

• Design mechanical and electrical fixtures, jigs, and tooling to aid repeatable assembly and testing.
• Support ATP (Acceptance Test Procedure) execution by partnering with Test Technicians and Design Engineering and ensuring any supplemental test instructions or tools are developed.
• Improve build ergonomics and assembly efficiency through fixture updates and layout optimization.
• Production BOMs, Routers, and Item Cards creation and modification.

Production Build Support

• Act as the frontline manufacturing liaison between technicians and design engineering to resolve build issues rapidly and accurately.
• Support transition of new builds from engineering to production by validating manufacturability, documenting processes, and providing feedback on prototype builds.
• Participate in root‑cause analysis for build failures and first‑article issues.
• Identify opportunities to improve yield, cycle time, build clarity, and technician workflow.
• Support small‑to‑medium‑scale CI initiatives as assigned by the Manufacturing Engineering Manager.
• Apply basic industrial engineering concepts (time studies, simple layout improvements, process standardization).
• Support drawing changes using ECN/ECR process.
• Interpret mechanical drawings, electrical schematics, assembly diagrams, and industry specifications.
• Support electro‑mechanical assemblies involving structures, PCBs, harnesses, connectors, avionics hardware, and basic mechanical components.
• Apply general knowledge of materials, fasteners, structural assembly, and electrical best practices.

• Bachelor’s degree in manufacturing engineering, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• 3+ years of experience in manufacturing or production engineering (aerospace, automotive, unmanned systems, electro‑mechanical assemblies, or similar).
• Ability to read and interpret mechanical drawings, electrical schematics, wire harness documentation, and assembly diagrams.
• Experience supporting technicians on the floor, including creating redlines and investigating build issues.
• Experience supporting first‑article builds, troubleshooting failures, and providing actionable manufacturing feedback.
• Familiarity with both mechanical and electrical manufacturing practices (harnessing, PCBAs, connectors, LRU assembly, mechanical subassemblies, etc.).
• Working knowledge of engineering analysis concepts (mechanical/electrical fundamentals) and industry standards.
• Working knowledge of best practices for creating electrical and mechanical drawings.

• Experience with CAD tools such as Solid Works (mechanical) and basic familiarity with ECAD tools such as Altium (electrical).
• Exposure designing simple…