Satellite Manufacturing Engineer

Astro Digital designs, builds, and operates a diverse range of small satellite systems supporting space-based turnkey missions for several business applications, including earth observation, communications, in-orbit demonstrations, risk reduction, science, and exploration. Astro Digital is headquartered in Littleton, Colorado with roughly 85 employees and infrastructure around the globe.

The Satellite Manufacturing Engineer is responsible for developing, maintaining, and supporting manufacturing processes used in the assembly, integration, and test of spacecraft systems and subsystems. This role serves as a key technical bridge between engineering and production, ensuring manufacturing operations are efficient, repeatable, and compliant with quality standards and program requirements.

The ideal candidate has experience supporting both mechanical and electrical spacecraft manufacturing activities and is comfortable providing hands‑on technical support within a fast‑paced production environment.

• Generate and maintain detailed manufacturing work instructions from engineering drawings, CAD models, electrical ICDs, schematics, BOMs, and engineering documentation.
• Develop, release, and maintain Manufacturing Orders (MOs), routings, travelers, and supporting production documentation within the ERP/MES system.
• Provide hands‑on technical support to manufacturing and integration technicians during spacecraft assembly, integration, harnessing, and test activities.
• Troubleshoot manufacturing and integration issues on the production floor and coordinate with engineering teams to implement corrective actions and process improvements.
• Develop and optimize manufacturing processes for spacecraft mechanical assembly, electrical integration, cable/harness installation, subsystem integration, and test operations.
• Collaborate with Mechanical, Electrical, Test, and Systems Engineering teams to ensure manufacturability and efficient production flow.
• Support configuration control and ensure manufacturing documentation remains aligned with released engineering baselines.
• Assist with nonconformance investigations, root cause analysis, rework planning, and implementation of corrective actions.
• Support production planning efforts including work sequencing, build readiness reviews, material status verification, and manufacturing risk identification.
• Ensure manufacturing activities comply with quality standards, ESD/FOD requirements, cleanroom procedures, and safety protocols.
• Identify opportunities for continuous improvement in manufacturing efficiency, tooling, workflow, and documentation quality.
• Support process development and validation for new spacecraft products, production methods, and integration techniques.

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or related technical discipline.
• 3–8 years of experience supporting aerospace, satellite, avionics, electronics, or other high-reliability manufacturing environments.
• Experience generating manufacturing work instructions, manufacturing orders, and production documentation from engineering drawings and technical data packages.
• Experience supporting both mechanical and electrical manufacturing operations.
• Ability to read and interpret mechanical drawings, wiring diagrams, harness documentation, electrical ICDs, assembly procedures, and engineering specifications.
• Hands‑on experience supporting precision mechanical assembly, electronics integration, cable/harness integration, or spacecraft subsystem integration activities.
• Experience troubleshooting manufacturing and integration issues in a production environment.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing process development, configuration management, and production workflows.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills with the ability to work cross‑functionally between engineering, manufacturing, quality, and supply chain teams.
• Ability to work independently in a fast‑paced development and production environment.
• Experience working within cleanroom, ESD, and FOD‑controlled environments.