Senior/Principal Design Reliability Engineer

Senior/Principal Design Reliability Engineer at Amca — El Segundo, CA, US

  • Company: Amca
  • Location: El Segundo, CA, US
  • Salary: $150,000–$225,000 a year
  • Posted: 2026-07-02

About this role

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:

You will be a senior technical contributor on Amca's design team, owning the overall design process and standards set by Amca. This role is vital to the business as it will help build out the standard design process that Amca applies to every new product it brings to market. You will report directly to the head of engineering, and we are looking for someone with either an electrical background or mechanical background to help develop the design processes in either mechanical or electrical systems. The role will include developing the process and systems for how we review requirements, holding design reviews, ensuring we are meeting requirements, creating design standards, minimizing design risk, and providing design feedback to a large percentage of hardware designs at the company. The senior/principal design reliability role requires experience developing hardware in a fast-paced environment, and the expectation is that this individual is able to work cross-functionally within Amca and its factories to push all of Amca to the forefront of hardware development.

Responsibilities:

  • Create a standard process for digesting and tracking all customer requirements.
  • Lead conversations with customers in relation to requirements and challenge requirements where appropriate.
  • Work closely and help lead design engineers with their product development by providing feedback that both mitigates risk and allows them to move as quickly as possible.
  • Attend and review all design reviews. Provide feedback throughout the design review process. Track design review actions and ensure they are closed out.
  • Own CAD release process. Set approval structure, enforce approvers, and maintain system. This may require some level of high level software ownership of applications like Teamcenter/NX/Altium. You will have access to a software team if specific tasks pop up.
  • Create Amca design guide
  • Set standards for what types of components Amca should use in its design
  • Set analysis standards
  • Create specific hardware design guides from lessons learned from design engineers.
  • Electromechanical
  • Hydraulics
  • Avionics
  • Set standards for hardware qualification. Leverage military standards and previous experiences to challenge requirements and ensure we are getting the most value out of our testing. Ensure we are testing in the most flight like manner possible.
  • When failures occur in qualification, assist with root cause identification and corrective action (primarily in relation to design misses).
  • Assist with defining our configuration management process.
  • This will be a more hands-on role than a standard design reliability role. You will be expected to help out your fellow design engineers and potentially even support some design projects when necessary.
  • Serve as an overall technical mentor for the entire Amca engineering team.
  • Assist with identifying design gaps within Amca’s factories to help identify high risk areas.
  • Collaborate closely with mechanical, electrical, software, and build engineering to ensure all parties are adhering to the same design standards.

Qualifications:

  • Substantial experience in mechanical or electrical engineering for aerospace or defense hardware, with a strong track record taking products from concept through flight qualification and into production
  • Deep technical expertise in at least one mechanical or electrical discipline — [mechanical] such as fluid systems (pneumatic or hydraulic), mechanisms, structural design, cockpit avionics packaging, or power electronics enclosures — [electrical] such as flight controls, power electronics, sensors, PCB/PCBA design, or RF – with working fluency across adjacent areas
  • Hands-on and lab-comfortable
  • Strong command of engineering first principles across mechanics or electronics; proven ability to simplify requirements and cut complexity
  • Familiarity and experience with common analysis tools such as hand calcs, FEA, and other simulations.
  • Familiarity with MIL-STD-810, DO-160, and other aerospace qualification frameworks
  • Independent, direct, and action-oriented; takes full ownership and thrives with minimal oversight
  • Nascent leadership instincts — comfortable informally guiding peers and ready to grow into broader responsibility over time

Annual Salary Range

$150,000—$225,000 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).

The Advanced Manufacturing Company of America 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.

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