FlightWave Aerospace - A Red Cat Company · 11 hours ago
Senior Product Engineer
Torrance, CA
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level
$132K/yr - $180K/yr
7+ years expFlightWave, a wholly owned subsidiary of Red Cat Holdings, is seeking a Senior Product Engineer to serve as the critical bridge between design intent and production reality. This role involves owning product definitions and ensuring unmanned drone platforms transition seamlessly from engineering design to high-quality manufacturing while collaborating across various engineering and manufacturing teams.
AerospaceData Collection and LabelingTransportation
No H1B
U.S. Citizen Only
Responsibilities
Partner with the Design Engineering team to ensure manufacturable designs are released, providing DFM expertise throughout the product development cycle
Review and approve engineering designs across multiple drone platforms, ensuring compatibility with manufacturing processes including composite layup, 3D printing, injection molding, PCB assembly, electromechanical assembly, and motor integration
Conduct design reviews and provide technical feedback to prevent downstream manufacturing and quality issues
Drive design improvements that reduce cost, improve quality, and enhance manufacturability
Contribute the product definition in SolidWorks and Arena PLM, ensuring complete and accurate documentation
Manage all Engineering Change Order (ECO) activity for assigned products, coordinating cross-functional review and implementation
Ensure BOMs, drawings, assembly instructions, and specifications are complete, accurate, and manufacturing-ready
Maintain configuration control and product data integrity throughout the product lifecycle
Coordinate and lead first article builds, working hands-on manufacturing team to validate designs and processes
Identify and resolve manufacturing issues during prototyping and production ramp
Develop and refine assembly processes, tooling requirements, and work instructions
Support qualification testing and certification activities
Serve as the primary technical interface between Design Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Supply Chain, and Quality
Work closely with Manufacturing Engineers to optimize production processes and resolve technical issues
Partner with Supply Chain to evaluate supplier capabilities, support vendor selection, and resolve component-related issues
Collaborate with Quality team to address non-conformances, implement corrective actions, and drive continuous improvement
Identify opportunities to improve product quality, reduce manufacturing costs, and streamline production processes
Lead root cause analysis and corrective action for product-related issues
Drive standardization and best practices across product platforms
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or related field
7+ years of product engineering or manufacturing engineering experience, preferably in aerospace, defense, or high-reliability electromechanical products
Proven track record of successfully transitioning complex products from design to production
Proficiency in SolidWorks (3D modeling, drawing creation, assemblies)
Experience with Arena PLM or similar PLM systems
Strong understanding of manufacturing processes
Deep knowledge of GD&T, tolerance analysis, and design for assembly
Familiarity with aerospace quality standards and practices
Preferred
Bachelor's degree in Engineering
Experience with unmanned aerial systems (UAS) or drone technology
Knowledge of AS9100 or similar aerospace quality management systems
Experience with FAA regulations and certification processes for unmanned aircraft
Background in New Product Introduction (NPI) processes
Six Sigma or Lean Manufacturing certification
Benefits
Generous annual equity package
Potential bonuses
Company
FlightWave Aerospace - A Red Cat Company
FlightWave Aerospace is a division of Red Cat, focused on delivering extended short-range, endurance-optimized uncrewed aircraft for mission-critical operations.
51-200 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageTotal Funding
$1.9MKey Investors
United States Air ForceSnowpoint VenturesBreakout Labs
2024-09-17Grant· $1.9M
2024-06-11Acquired
2022-03-15Series Unknown
Leadership Team
Trent Lukaczyk
CTO & Co-Founder
Recent News
2025-10-10
Red Cat Holdings, Inc.
2025-04-07
Company data provided by crunchbase