Composites and Airframe Build Lead

ABOUT US:

Astro Mechanica is a vertically integrated aerospace company developing a scalable technology platform to power critical infrastructure, mission operations, and the future of flight. We apply aerospace engineering and quality standards across our products, delivering high performance, reliability, and efficiency for the most demanding operating environments. Astro Mechanica is backed by leading venture and strategic investors, including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Giant Step Capital, United Airlines Ventures, and Voyager Ventures.

WHO WE ARE:

We’re a team of passionate engineers dedicated to advancing aerospace. We’re generalists with specialist depth, united by a flat structure and a shared obsession with building things that work well. We move fast, stay pragmatic, and let engineering excellence speak louder than hierarchy.

WHO YOU ARE:

You are an experienced composites technician that is excited by the challenge of establishing new processes, growing a highly capable team, and standing up a manufacturing line. You are well versed in a variety of composites manufacturing methods from either aerospace, marine or advanced automotive industries and can quickly and effectively identify which processes and techniques will yield the best results. You are comfortable providing design for manufacturing feedback to engineers and all technical partners. The ideal person for this role will help write the composites manufacturing playbook, not just follow it.

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

• Lead Astro Mechanica's composite technicians day to day on the floor, setting the standard for workmanship and holding the team to it

• Help build the team: interview candidates, onboard and train new technicians, develop a skills matrix, and grow people into harder work

• Help stand up Astro Mechanica's airframe manufacturing operation from scratch, including facilities, workflows, tooling concepts, equipment and consumables needs, with a focus on both rapid implementation and future scalability

• Run the daily build: sequence the work, assign the crew, track progress against milestones, and raise blockers before they cost schedule

• Perform and supervise layup, bagging, infusion, cure, bonding, trimming, drilling, and assembly of airframe structure

• Own the condition of molds, layup tools, and assembly fixtures in the shop, and coordinate repair or replacement with the tool design team

• Work shoulder to shoulder with the Airframe Manufacturing Engineers and Airframe Design Engineers to turn build plans into process that actually runs on the floor

• Feed engineering real build data: what is slow, what is fragile, and what the drawing does not account for

• Establish and improve shop practice around material handling, out-time control, kitting, cleanliness, consumables, and cure records

• Check your team's work in process and at completion, document non-conformances honestly, and help find and fix the cause

• Own safety and housekeeping in the composite shop, including PPE and respirator discipline, chemical handling and storage, and hazard reporting

• Support first article builds and help define what good looks like on parts nobody has made before

• Train the team as new processes and materials come in, and write the documentation that makes those processes repeatable

• Help scale the shop as build rate grows, with a view on headcount, equipment, and floor layout

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR:

• 10+ years of hands-on composite fabrication in aerospace, defense, marine, motorsports, or another high-performance build environment, with at least 2 of those years directing the work of other technicians

• A track record of building a hands-on crew: interviewing, onboarding, training, setting the workmanship bar, and holding people to it

• Deep personal command of prepreg and wet layup, vacuum bagging, resin infusion, oven and autoclave cure, and secondary bonding

• Practical experience with core materials including honeycomb, foam, and syntactic, covering splicing, potting, and core-to-skin bond quality

• Strong trimming, drilling, sanding, fairing, and fitting skills, plus the judgment to tell when a surface or edge is genuinely good enough

• Experience joining composite detail parts into larger structure: bond prep, adhesive bonding, shimming, and fastener installation

• Comfort working alongside metallic detail parts, weldments, and machined fittings, including composite-to-metal joints

• Care and keeping of molds, layup tools, and assembly fixtures, including prep, release systems, minor repair, and knowing when a tool is no longer fit to build on

• Ability to work directly from engineering drawings, ply books, CAD models, and evolving build definitions

• Ability to write and improve work instructions that a new technician can actually follow

• Experience running builds to a schedule: sequencing the work, staffing it, flagging risk early, and keeping a crew productive

• Ownership of quality at the source, including in-process checks, first article support, and honest records of what was actually built

• Demonstrated experience and strong desire to work closely with engineering on the shop floor, including the confidence to say when a design cannot be built as drawn

• Physically able to do the work: full shifts on your feet, lifting, respirator use, and moving in and around large structures

• Experience standing up a composite shop or a new build cell from scratch, including equipment, consumables, layout, and process

• Time spent in a development or prototype shop where the build definition changed week to week

PERKS & BENEFITS:

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance, including Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)

• 401(k) program and transparent stock option plan

• Self-managed and flexible time-off policy, including PTO, paid holidays, and sick time

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

At Astro Mechanica, we highly value in-office work to foster collaboration and strengthen our company culture. We consider working in the office five days a week an essential part of the employee's role.

Astro Mechanica is an equal opportunity employer. We proudly recruit and hire a diverse workforce and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.