Manufacturing Engineer - Factory Development

Spacecraft represent the most pressing unmet need across the entire aerospace industry. As more launch vehicles come online and the cost to orbit decreases, more companies launching payloads to space continue to emerge.

For the first time in history, this influx of payload companies combined with reduced launch costs has resulted in a massive increase in need for commercial spacecraft platforms, known as satellite buses. These buses hold the payloads of our customers and are flown on launch vehicles.

Apex manufactures these satellite buses at scale using a combination of software, vertical integration, and hardware that is designed for manufacturing. Our spacecraft enable the future of society: ranging from earth observation to communications and more.

We’d love for you to join us on our mission of providing humankind access to the galaxy beyond our planet.

Apex Space is seeking a highly technical and execution-focused Staff Manufacturing Engineer to lead factory development and manufacturing scale up efforts for Comet, our next-generation spacecraft platform. This role will own the strategy and execution behind standing up new production facilities, designing scalable production systems, and transitioning spacecraft hardware from development into high rate manufacturing.

This person should be equally comfortable walking an empty warehouse and defining the entire factory vision: production lines, equipment placement, workflow, utilities, rate capability, and manufacturing strategy, as they are diving deep into the technical realities of the hardware being built. You’ll play a critical role in shaping how Apex scales future spacecraft production by developing practical, scalable factory solutions that support aggressive production targets while maintaining quality, efficiency, and flexibility.

You will work cross-functionally with Engineering, Production, Supply Chain, Facilities, Automation, and Leadership teams to build world-class manufacturing infrastructure from the ground up.

• Drive manufacturing strategy and NPI execution for Comet from early development through production ramp.

• Lead factory development initiatives including greenfield factory planning, facility layout, manufacturing line design, workflow optimization, and production infrastructure definition.

• Take ownership of translating production requirements into scalable factory solutions, including equipment layouts, material flow, staffing models, production rate planning, and facility outputs.

• Partner with leadership and Facilities teams to evaluate new buildings, support site selection activities, and define long-term manufacturing expansion strategies.

• Develop scalable production methodologies suitable for medium-to-high-rate spacecraft manufacturing.

• Define and implement manufacturing process flows, assembly strategies, tooling concepts, GSE requirements, and production readiness plans.

• Partner directly with product design and engineering teams to provide DFM/DFA feedback throughout concept development, PDR, CDR, and release phases.

• Collaborate with automation and facilities teams to identify and implement automation and semi-automation opportunities across production lines.

• Support sourcing, commissioning, validation, and deployment of production equipment, tooling, and manufacturing systems.

• Build practical manufacturing solutions that balance engineering intent, factory realities, throughput requirements, and long-term scalability.

• Drive root cause investigations, process improvements, and manufacturing readiness initiatives during integration and production activities.

• Establish and maintain manufacturing documentation, process controls, configuration management practices, and NPI best practices.

• Contribute to long-term strategy around vertical integration, factory scaling, manufacturing in sourcing, and future production capabilities.

• Help define and scale the future NPI Manufacturing Engineering and Factory Development organization as production complexity and rate increase.

• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or related technical discipline.

• 8+ years of experience in manufacturing engineering, NPI, factory development, production engineering, or industrialization roles within aerospace, automotive, robotics, or other high-complexity hardware industries.

• Demonstrated experience scaling complex hardware products from prototype/development builds into…