Manufacturing Engineer

AST SpaceMobile is building the first and only global cellular broadband network in space to operate directly with standard, unmodified mobile devices based on our extensive IP and patent portfolio and designed for both commercial and government applications. Our engineers and space scientists are on a mission to eliminate the connectivity gaps faced by today’s five billion mobile subscribers and finally bring broadband to the billions who remain unconnected.

Position Overview

The Manufacturing Engineer is responsible for developing, optimizing, and automating production processes that support high-reliability automotive and aerospace manufacturing. This role drives end-to-end process design, equipment implementation, and continuous improvement initiatives to enable safe, repeatable, and efficient production. The engineer partners cross-functionally with design, quality, and operations teams to support new product introduction (NPI), improve manufacturability, and scale production capacity in regulated, quality-critical environments.

Key Responsibilities

Process Development & Optimization

• Develop, validate, and optimize manufacturing processes for new and existing products.
• Create and maintain process documentation including work instructions, PFMEAs, control plans, process flow diagrams, and SOPs.
• Perform time studies, capacity modeling, and line balancing to improve throughput and efficiency.
• Identify and eliminate bottlenecks to ensure stable, repeatable production performance.

Lean Manufacturing & Continuous Improvement

• Implement Lean methodologies including 5S, Kaizen, SMED, VSM, and structured root-cause problem solving.
• Drive improvements in cycle time, takt time, yield, and overall process quality.
• Support TPM initiatives and improve OEE metrics across production assets.
• Lead continuous improvement projects focused on waste reduction and operational excellence.

Automation & Equipment Engineering

• Specify, design, and implement automated equipment, robotics, vision systems, PLC-based controls, and automated test equipment (ATE).
• Partner with external vendors for equipment sourcing, installation, commissioning, and validation.
• Develop or support automation programming using PLCs, Python, LabVIEW, or similar tools.
• Conduct equipment capability studies including Gage R&R, MSA, Cp/Cpk, and validation protocols.

Quality & Compliance