Firefly Aerospace
Spacecraft AI&T Operations Engineer II
Firefly Aerospace, Cedar Park, Texas, United States, 78613
ABOUT FIREFLY AEROSPACE
Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company that enables our world to launch, land, and operate in space - anywhere, anytime. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the only commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the only company to achieve a successful Moon landing. Our launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles provide government and commercial customers with full mission services from low Earth orbit to the Moon and beyond. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.
SUMMARY
We are looking for a Spacecraft Assembly, Integration, and Test (AIT) Operations Engineer to help scale our spacecraft production capabilities. In this role, you will be at the center of turning spacecraft designs into flight-ready vehicles-driving process efficiency, enabling facility growth, and ensuring smooth daily operations on the production floor. You will partner closely with engineering, integration, and test teams to track operational performance, optimize workflows, and implement data-driven improvements that enhance quality, throughput, and repeatability. This position is ideal for engineers who thrive at the intersection of hands-on spacecraft operations, process design, and cross-functional collaboration, and who are eager to build the infrastructure and practices that will define the future of spacecraft manufacturing.
RESPONSIBILITIES
As a Spacecraft AIT Operations Engineer, you will: Define requirements for facility expansion, infrastructure upgrades, and in-house test capabilities to support scaling spacecraft production. Collaborate with subject matter experts to define cleanroom and facility layouts to balance flow and operational efficiency. Assist in measuring production capacity, identifying bottlenecks, and implementing integration improvements to support delivery schedules. Collaborate with engineering and manufacturing teams to define tooling, ground support equipment, and automation needs. Develop metrics and dashboards to track production throughput, quality, and operational performance. Help standardize work instructions, procedures, and best practices to transition from one-off builds to a production environment. Drive development and adoption of automated test frameworks, tools, and processes to increase throughput, reduce manual effort, and improve consistency across spacecraft functional test campaigns. Ensure all AIT activities comply with safety, contamination control, and regulatory requirements. QUALIFICATIONS
Required
Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Industrial Engineering, or related field. 3+ years of experience in spacecraft, aerospace, or complex electromechanical system manufacturing, assembly, or test operations. Experience with cleanroom facility planning, production flow optimization, or manufacturing process development. Familiarity with Lean, Six Sigma, or similar continuous improvement methodologies. Proficiency with SQL or other database query languages and data visualization tools such as Power BI to analyze production, test, and inventory data for process optimization and decision-making. Strong organizational, problem-solving, and data analysis skills. Ability to work collaboratively across engineering, operations, and leadership teams. Desired
Experience supporting the transition from prototype/one-off spacecraft builds to scalable, production-style integration and test operations. Proven track record implementing standardized processes, work instructions, and best practices across multiple spacecraft programs. Background in production system design, including cleanroom/facility layout optimization, takt time planning, and throughput modeling. Hands-on experience developing and deploying automation tools, fixtures, or ground support equipment to support repeatable builds. Demonstrated ability to balance engineering change management with maintaining production flow in a low-rate, high-complexity environment. Knowledge of scalability challenges unique to spacecraft AIT, including configuration control, contamination control, and cross-program standardization.
Firefly offers outstanding benefits for our employees, including generous health, dental and vision plans with low plan deductibles, parental leave, educational reimbursement, short term disability, and flexible PTO options.
To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.
Firefly Aerospace, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Firefly is governed based on merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.
Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company that enables our world to launch, land, and operate in space - anywhere, anytime. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the only commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the only company to achieve a successful Moon landing. Our launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles provide government and commercial customers with full mission services from low Earth orbit to the Moon and beyond. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.
SUMMARY
We are looking for a Spacecraft Assembly, Integration, and Test (AIT) Operations Engineer to help scale our spacecraft production capabilities. In this role, you will be at the center of turning spacecraft designs into flight-ready vehicles-driving process efficiency, enabling facility growth, and ensuring smooth daily operations on the production floor. You will partner closely with engineering, integration, and test teams to track operational performance, optimize workflows, and implement data-driven improvements that enhance quality, throughput, and repeatability. This position is ideal for engineers who thrive at the intersection of hands-on spacecraft operations, process design, and cross-functional collaboration, and who are eager to build the infrastructure and practices that will define the future of spacecraft manufacturing.
RESPONSIBILITIES
As a Spacecraft AIT Operations Engineer, you will: Define requirements for facility expansion, infrastructure upgrades, and in-house test capabilities to support scaling spacecraft production. Collaborate with subject matter experts to define cleanroom and facility layouts to balance flow and operational efficiency. Assist in measuring production capacity, identifying bottlenecks, and implementing integration improvements to support delivery schedules. Collaborate with engineering and manufacturing teams to define tooling, ground support equipment, and automation needs. Develop metrics and dashboards to track production throughput, quality, and operational performance. Help standardize work instructions, procedures, and best practices to transition from one-off builds to a production environment. Drive development and adoption of automated test frameworks, tools, and processes to increase throughput, reduce manual effort, and improve consistency across spacecraft functional test campaigns. Ensure all AIT activities comply with safety, contamination control, and regulatory requirements. QUALIFICATIONS
Required
Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Industrial Engineering, or related field. 3+ years of experience in spacecraft, aerospace, or complex electromechanical system manufacturing, assembly, or test operations. Experience with cleanroom facility planning, production flow optimization, or manufacturing process development. Familiarity with Lean, Six Sigma, or similar continuous improvement methodologies. Proficiency with SQL or other database query languages and data visualization tools such as Power BI to analyze production, test, and inventory data for process optimization and decision-making. Strong organizational, problem-solving, and data analysis skills. Ability to work collaboratively across engineering, operations, and leadership teams. Desired
Experience supporting the transition from prototype/one-off spacecraft builds to scalable, production-style integration and test operations. Proven track record implementing standardized processes, work instructions, and best practices across multiple spacecraft programs. Background in production system design, including cleanroom/facility layout optimization, takt time planning, and throughput modeling. Hands-on experience developing and deploying automation tools, fixtures, or ground support equipment to support repeatable builds. Demonstrated ability to balance engineering change management with maintaining production flow in a low-rate, high-complexity environment. Knowledge of scalability challenges unique to spacecraft AIT, including configuration control, contamination control, and cross-program standardization.
Firefly offers outstanding benefits for our employees, including generous health, dental and vision plans with low plan deductibles, parental leave, educational reimbursement, short term disability, and flexible PTO options.
To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.
Firefly Aerospace, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Firefly is governed based on merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.