---
title: 'Sr. Manufacturing Engineer - Aircraft Operations at Reliable Robotics Corporation'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/sr-manufacturing-engineer-aircraft-operations-reliable-robotics-corporation-san-4cyhzwcvsf04'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-13'
---

# Sr. Manufacturing Engineer - Aircraft Operations at Reliable Robotics Corporation

- **Company:** [Reliable Robotics Corporation](https://feeny.ai/companies/reliable-robotics-corporation)
- **Location:** San Martin, CA
- **Compensation:** $167k–$230k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Posted:** 2026-07-30
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-13
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/reliable-robotics/1de5ccb4-17f1-4f30-b48e-d0f526916e41/application

**Skills:** CAD, PLM, Altium, NX, Teamcenter, Aircraft design, Manufacturing, Inspection, Testing, Design for Excellence, Root-cause analysis, Airworthiness directives, AS9100, CFR 14 CFR, 14 CFR Part 145, Turbine-powered aircraft systems, P&W PT6A Engines, Maintenance and rigging

> The Senior Manufacturing Engineer develops and improves manufacturing, installation, and maintenance processes for avionics and mechanical systems. Responsibilities include automation system installation, design for excellence reviews, root-cause analysis, and ensuring compliance with safety and quality standards in...

## Job description

We're building safety-enhancing technology for aviation that will save lives. Automated aviation systems will enable a future where air transportation is safer, more convenient and fundamentally transformative to the way goods — and eventually people — move around the planet. We are a team of mission-driven engineers with experience across aerospace, robotics and self-driving cars working to make this future a reality.

As a Sr. Manufacturing Engineer at Reliable Robotics, you’ll play a critical role in developing and continuously improving our manufacturing, installation, and maintenance processes to meet design, regulatory, and business requirements (including safety, quality, cost, and on-time delivery). This is a growing team of highly motivated people who are passionate about delivering quality products and services on time, with unquestionable value. You will be responsible for our automation system's installation and maintenance, including hands-on installations, procedure development, documentation, conducting design for excellence (DFx) reviews, and developing the processes and infrastructure to help the business scale. The projects you work on will set the foundation for how the business operates for years to come. This is a fantastic opportunity to work in a safety-critical environment that takes our products from prototype to production, in a hands-on environment.

## Responsibilities

- Responsible for installation, inspection, maintenance, repair, modification, testing, and fabrication of the Reliable-designed mechanical, electromechanical, and electrical/avionics assemblies, harnessing, interconnects, and other commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) products
- Conduct design for excellence (DFx) reviews to evaluate designs for cost, producibility, inspectability, consistency, adequacy, accuracy, and conformance to requirements
- Collaborate with design, quality, and certification teams to embed manufacturability, compliance, and risk mitigation in all phases of product development (e.g., prototype, R&D, certification, and production)
- Develop and ensure compliance with all policies, procedures, quality management system, technical bulletins, engineering orders, service bulletins, and airworthiness directives
- Develop processes to ensure accurate, current, and complete documentation (installation and inspection records, logbook entries, etc.) is utilized and maintained
- Lead root-cause analysis and implement timely corrective actions to maintain schedule, quality, and reliability
- Ensure an adequate supply of tools, serviceable parts, components, and consumables necessary for aircraft servicing and maintenance is maintained
- Oversee routine/non-routine aircraft installations, inspections, and maintenance to ensure aircraft safety and availability across multiple airframes

## Basic Success Criteria

- Bachelor's degree in mechanical, electrical, aerospace, systems engineering, or 7+ years of relevant experience leading aircraft maintenance/modification operations
- 7+ years of aircraft design, manufacturing, inspection, and/or testing experience
- 2+ years of experience leading complex projects or programs in aerospace, autonomy, or robotics
- 2+ years of experience with computer-aided design (CAD) and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software, such as Altium, NX, and Teamcenter

## Preferred Criteria

- Holder of an FAA-accredited Airframe & Powerplant (A&P) Certificate
- Prototype/R&D development or New Product Introduction (NPI) experience
- Experience with industry or regulatory requirements such as AS9100, CFR 14 CFR [21.137](http://21.0.0.137/), and/or 14 CFR Part 145
- Knowledge of highly complex medium to heavy turbine-powered aircraft, their powerplants, flight and stabilization controls, pneumatic, fuel systems, electronic engine, hydraulic, and navigation systems
- Maintenance and rigging experience on P&W PT6A Engines/Airframes
- Previous leadership or management experience

Our team is passionate about delivering on our commitments, solving hard problems, continuously improving, and helping the business succeed. We are constantly reevaluating our technologies, products, and capabilities. If you are a lifelong learner, you will love this environment. Get in on the ground floor and help us build the company.

The location for this position will be split between at our facility in San Martin, California (50%) and our HQ in Mountain View, CA (50%).

Must be willing to travel 10% of the time.

The estimated salary range for this position is $167,000 to $230,000/annual salary + cash and stock option awards + benefits. At Reliable Robotics, we strive to provide competitive and rewarding compensation based on experience and expertise, as well as market conditions, location, and pay equity.

In addition to base compensation, Reliable Robotics offers stock options, employee medical, 401k contribution, great co-workers and a casual work environment.

This position requires access to information that is subject to U.S. export controls. An offer of employment will be contingent upon the applicant’s capacity to perform in compliance with U.S. export control laws. All applicants are asked to provide documentation that legally establishes status as a U.S. person or non-U.S. person (and nationalities in the case of a non-U.S. person). Where the applicant is not a U.S. person, meaning not a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful permanent resident, (iii) refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or not otherwise permitted to access the export-controlled technology without U.S. government authorization, the Company reserves the right not to apply for an export license for such applicants whose access to export-controlled technology or software source code requires authorization and may decline to proceed with the application process and any offer of employment on that basis. At Reliable Robotics, our goal is to be a diverse and inclusive workforce. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, creed, ancestry, sex, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability or medical conditions, national origin, military or veteran status, genetic information, marital status, or any other basis covered by applicable law. All employment and promotion is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need. If you require reasonable accommodation in completing an application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to work@reliable.co

## About Reliable Robotics Corporation

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Reliable Robotics is building a certifiable autonomous flight system to make air transportation safer, more available, and more affordable for cargo and passenger aircraft.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series D)
- **Headquarters**: Mountain View, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2017
- **Founders**: Robert Rose (CEO) and Juerg Frefel (CTO)

## Core Business
- **Primary Industry**: Airlines and Aviation / Autonomous Flight Systems
- **Target Customers**: Cargo operators (Part 23), passenger airlines (Part 25), and government/military logistics providers (B2B, Enterprise)
- **Mission / Purpose**: “Advanced automation will make aircraft safer, more available, more affordable and fundamentally transformative to the way goods and people move around the planet.”

## Products & Services
- **Reliable Autonomy System**: A fully integrated, FAA‑certifiable system that enables gate‑to‑gate autonomous operation – including auto‑taxi, auto‑takeoff, en‑route flight, auto‑landing, and detect‑and‑avoid. Designed initially for Part 23 cargo aircraft and expanding to Part 25 passenger jets. (Type: Hardware + Software + Service)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not disclosed (private company)
- **Key Metric**: Total funding — $330.6 M (8 rounds, per LinkedIn/Craft) or $303.1 M (per CBInsights); conflicting reports. Last round: Series D (led by Nimble Partners, with participation from Coatue, Lightspeed, UP Partners, and others).
- **Notable Investors / Partners**: Coatue, Lightspeed Venture Partners, UP Partners, Pathbreaker Ventures, Presidio Ventures, Nimble Partners. FAA (testing partner).
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount of 154 (up ~55% YoY), 65 active job postings (+44% YoY), FAA‑contracted flight testing of its detect‑and‑avoid system, and announced completion of the first FAA‑certifiable system for fully automated operation.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Certification‑forward approach**: First system to achieve FAA certifiability for fully automated aircraft operation, a critical regulatory moat.
- **End‑to‑end capability**: Covers all phases of flight (taxi, takeoff, route, landing, detect‑and‑avoid), reducing integration risk for operators.
- **Top‑tier engineering talent**: Heavily recruits from SpaceX, NASA, Lockheed Martin, and Virgin Orbit, indicating deep aerospace expertise.

## Strategic Focus
- **Commercialization for Part 23 cargo**: Near‑term priority to bring the system to market for cargo operators, leveraging existing FAA testing.
- **Expansion to Part 25 passenger aircraft**: Long‑term roadmap to serve the passenger airline market.
- **Scaling the engineering team**: Growing headcount rapidly (54.7% YoY) to accelerate certification and deployment.

## Why Work Here
- **Hybrid workspace**: Employees work a combination of remote and on‑site at the Mountain View headquarters; some roles are in‑office or flexible.
- **Engineering‑centric culture**: 48% of employees are in technical roles; strong talent pipeline from SpaceX, NASA, and top aerospace firms.
- **Employee rating**: 4.2/5 on Built In (based on 19 reviews), with top marks for Work‑Life (4.2) and Culture (4.1).
- **Growth opportunity**: 65 open positions across flight software, mechanical engineering, systems integration, and more – rapid hiring indicates upward mobility.
- **Mission‑driven work**: Direct impact on making aviation safer and more accessible through autonomous technology.

## Sources
1. [reliable.co](https://reliable.co/)
2. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/reliablerobotics)
3. [cbinsights.com](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/reliable-robotics)
4. [craft.co](https://craft.co/reliable-robotics)
5. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/reliable-robotics-corporation)
6. [jobs.ashbyhq.com](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/reliable-robotics) (Careers page)

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