Manager, Vehicle Structures Design Engineering

Manager, Vehicle Structures Design Engineering

Long Beach, California

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. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the known.

The Structures and Mechanisms team is responsible for the full design, build, and test lifecycle of Terran R’s integrated structures and flight mechanisms. Whether you’re working on highly iterative mechanisms that move or tight‑margin structures that shouldn’t, you’ll get hands‑on hardware ownership and see the rocket coming to life on the factory floor. Both teams fall under one department, sharing design principles, tools, and an integrated approach that provides a comprehensive view of Terran R.

Team members work on multiple parts, not just within a single subsystem, and are empowered to make decisions that directly impact flight hardware. Beyond first flight, you’ll play a critical role in refining for manufacturability and speed.

To be successful, you should be self‑motivated, adaptable, and able to lead teams in a fast‑paced environment. You will need strong interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate effectively with direct reports and leaders within and outside the organization. You will support cross‑functional trade & impact studies, assist in the coordination of changes, and facilitate the resolution of integration and development issues between engineering teams.

Ideally, you have significant mechanical or integrated design experience as well as a proven track record of organizing and completing collaborative projects effectively. Your advanced CAD skills enable you to own configuration management standards for our Terran R vehicle, as well as help you mentor other design engineers across the organization. Finally, you also have the ability to earn trust, maintain positive and professional relationships, and strengthen our culture of inclusion.

• B.S. degree in engineering with 5+ years of relevant experience leading a design team
• Experience designing and managing large, complex CAD assemblies and associated drawings in NX & Teamcenter
• Direct product configuration management experience (product structure, parts, drawings and requirements management)
• Fundamental knowledge of mechanical engineering design, analysis, manufacturing, and testing
• Highly proficient in ASME Y14.100, Y14.5, Y14.41

• Expertise in structures and fluids systems for launch vehicle design, fabrication, and assembly techniques
• Expertise in NX modeling, including automation and programming
• Ability to interpret and apply high‑level system requirements to develop practical design solutions
• Strong interpersonal, communication and project management skills
• Experience with ERP/MES Systems
• Proficient with product lifecycle management (PLM) and/or data management tools

We are an equal‑opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

At Relativity Space, we are committed to transparency and fairness in our compensation practices. Compensation is determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job‑related factors. It 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: $185,000 - $204,000 USD