AMCA

Aerospace/defense product development and prototyping

Operations Engineer

Manufacturing EngineeringUpdated on Nov 11

Full-timeEl Segundo, CA, USA$100k - $160k /yrIn-person

About the Job

Requirements

A bachelor's degree in industrial, mechanical, manufacturing, chemical, or a related engineering field, or equivalent experience.
At least 2 years of experience as an operations, industrial, process, or manufacturing engineer, ideally in a manufacturing environment.
A track record of solving production problems on the floor using structured root cause analysis.
Working knowledge of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) general industry standards and hazardous material handling.

Responsibilities

Be the first point of contact when production stalls because of a process, machine, material, supplier, or system issue.
Identify root causes using structured methods such as 5 Whys, fishbone analysis, and Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), and implement durable fixes rather than workarounds.
Track recurring issues, rework, and downtime, and resolve the underlying patterns.
Map workflows, identify bottlenecks and failure points, and redesign processes to handle increased volume and headcount.
Own and improve the internal Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system by fixing data errors, broken workflows, and missing fields in collaboration with software engineering.
Build missing ERP capabilities, beginning with Environmental, Health, and Safety (EH&S) functions such as hazardous-material flags, Safety Data Sheet (SDS) records, supplier certifications, and training records, to maintain materials traceability from purchase through disposal.
Build tools and dashboards using Excel, SQL, Python, and Power BI to analyze capacity, cycle time, cost, and output.
Own hazardous material handling from receiving through storage, use, tracking, and disposal, and establish procedures and training for build teams to use day to day.
Maintain compliance with OSHA, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), applicable state and local rules, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) requirements, Department of Transportation (DOT) waste requirements, permits, and reporting.
Conduct hazard assessments, inspections, and incident investigations, and maintain current emergency plans for fires and spills.
Develop role-based EH&S training and track completion so records are audit-ready.
Serve as a point of contact for regulators, inspectors, insurers, and auditors, and engage outside specialists when deeper expertise is needed.
Find, qualify, and onboard suppliers and contractors against quality, delivery, cost, and EH&S requirements.
Walk jobs with vendors, negotiate pricing, and hold vendors to schedule.
Run supplier scorecards, corrective actions, and second sourcing for critical parts and materials.

Desired Qualifications

Experience in aerospace or defense manufacturing, including AS9100 or ITAR environments.
Experience as an industrial, operations, process, or manufacturing engineer in a developmental manufacturing environment.
Strong project management skills and effective communication across multidisciplinary teams.
EH&S experience, such as running safety programs, managing RCRA or DOT hazardous waste, handling environmental permits, or working in industrial hygiene.

There was a time when all of America believed that the future of the physical world could be radically different. The engineers of the mid-1900s put a man on the moon in eight years, designed and built planes and submarines from scratch in under three, and conceived of building things we wouldn’t even be able to dream up today.

Today, the last of the engineers who imagined and built these systems are retiring. As they go, we lose not only the engineering knowledge gained from their decades of imagination and trial-and-error, but also the spirit that made that imagination possible.

Amca is working day-in and day-out to restore America’s ability to engineer anything that our critical systems depend on, and reinvigorate the cycle of creation that allows imagination to shape physical reality. We rapidly develop and manufacture new critical components and subsystems required to build and sustain the planes, military vehicles, and core infrastructure America needs. By restoring the capability of our antiquated supply chains, we increase the country’s capacity to imagine and realize new systems, and make a physical world that looks very different from today.

Overview

The Operations Engineer keeps Amca's factories running and growing. You will solve manufacturing problems as they come up, build the processes and systems that let production scale, and manage the suppliers behind them. EH&S is part of the job: you build safety into everything you design and own hazardous material handling on the floor. This is a hands-on role for an engineer who wants to move between the production floor, the ERP and a supplier's shop in the same week.

Responsibilities

Manufacturing Problem Solving

Be the first call when production stalls, whether the cause is a process, a machine, a material, a supplier or a system.

Get to root cause with structured methods (5 Whys, fishbone, FMEA) and put fixes in place that hold, not workarounds.

Track recurring issues, rework and downtime, and close out the patterns behind them.

Processes and Systems

Map workflows, find bottlenecks and failure points, and redesign them to handle more volume and headcount.

Own and improve our internal ERP: fix data errors, broken workflows and missing fields, working with software engineering.

Build what the ERP is missing, starting with EH&S: hazardous material flags, SDS records, supplier certifications and training records, so materials are traceable from purchase to disposal.

Build tools and dashboards (Excel, SQL, Python, Power BI) to analyze capacity, cycle time, cost and output.

Environmental, Health and Safety

Own hazardous material handling end to end: receiving, storage, use, tracking and disposal, with procedures and training the build teams run day to day.

Keep us compliant with OSHA, EPA, NFPA and applicable state and local rules, including RCRA and DOT waste requirements, permits and reporting.

Run hazard assessments, inspections and incident investigations, and keep emergency plans for fires and spills current.

Build role-based EH&S training and track it so records are audit-ready.

Act as a point of contact for regulators, inspectors, insurers and auditors, and bring in outside specialists when deeper expertise is needed.

Supplier Management

Find, qualify and onboard suppliers and contractors on quality, delivery, cost and EH&S requirements.

Walk jobs with vendors, negotiate pricing and hold them to schedule.

Run scorecards, corrective actions and second sourcing for critical parts and materials.

Basic Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in industrial, mechanical, manufacturing, chemical or a related engineering field, or equivalent experience.

2+ years as an operations, industrial, process or manufacturing engineer, ideally in a manufacturing environment.

A track record of solving production problems on the floor with structured root cause analysis.

Working knowledge of OSHA general industry standards and hazardous material handling.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience in aerospace or defense manufacturing, including AS9100 or ITAR environments.

Experience as an industrial, operations, process or manufacturing engineer in a developmental manufacturing environment.

Strong project management skills and effective communication across multi-disciplinary teams.

EH&S experience such as running safety programs, RCRA or DOT hazardous waste, environmental permits or industrial hygiene.

Annual Salary Range

$100,000—$160,000 USD

This position requires use of information which is subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). All applicants must be U.S. persons within the meaning of ITAR. ITAR defines a US person as: any individual who is granted U.S. citizenship; or. any individual who is granted U.S. permanent residence ("Green Card" holder); or. any individual who is granted status as a "protected person" under 8 U.S.C 1324b(a)(3).

Amca, Inc prohibits discrimination or harassment based on the following categories: race, color, religion, religious creed (including religious dress and grooming practices), national origin, ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition (including cancer and genetic characteristics), genetic information, marital status, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), gender, gender identity, gender expression, age (40 years and over), sexual orientation, veteran and/or military status, protected medical leaves (requesting or approved for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act or the California Family Rights Act), domestic violence victim status, political affiliation, and any other status protected by state or federal law.

Annual Salary Range 100000 - 160000 USD

About the Company

AMCA

Aerospace/defense product development and prototyping

AMCA operates in the aerospace and defense sector by acquiring and developing key products to meet industry needs. It builds unified engineering and manufacturing processes to speed up capabilities and increase production volumes, while prioritizing quality and safety with a strong customer focus. The company’s model centers on scaling acquired products and creating new ones to respond to evolving market demands, enabling rapid prototyping and fast delivery to clients in the aerospace supply chain. Its goal is to expand and improve product offerings to meet the changing needs of the aerospace and defense markets, delivering reliable solutions with attention to safety and performance.

Company size: 51-200
Company stage: Series B
Total funding: $376.5M
Headquarters: El Segundo, CA
Founded: 2024

Recently Posted Jobs

Explore more opportunities at AMCA

See more jobs