Senior Manufacturing Engineer

About the role

Make it rain. Make Snow. Make Earth Habitable. Rainmaker builds and deploys audacious technologies that work with nature to create an abundant, habitable planet. We are modernizing proven cloud-seeding science with weather-resistant UAS, radar and satellite observations, numerical weather prediction, novel sensing and validation systems, and sustainable seeding technologies. We are building an integrated system to make more freshwater available to farms, ecosystems, and communities. Our ambition is bold, but we pursue it with humility. We take on difficult problems in the real world with technical rigor, grit, integrity, and an openness to learning and course-correcting. We are hiring individuals with evidence of exceptional ability. If you want to build systems that endure, restore, and provide, and help deliver the future we were promised, we want to hear from you. Location Note: This is a full-time position based in Salt Lake City, UT. The selected candidate will complete an onsite training period in El Segundo, CA through January 2027, before relocating to Salt Lake City, UT to continue in the role.  Rainmaker is pioneering a modern cloud seeding system to solve water scarcity and inclement weather problems. We develop and incorporate radar validation, weather-resistant UAS, numerical weather modeling, and sustainable cloud seeds into an effective precipitation enhancement solution. We're looking for a Senior Manufacturing Engineer to serve as the critical link between Engineering and Production as our drone platform evolves. You'll own the process of translating design revisions into actionable build and maintenance documentation, and ensure the production floor is always working from the latest, most accurate build standards. What You'll Do - - Engineering Coordination: Partner closely with Engineering to understand, plan, and roll out design revisions and changes to the drone platform. - Build Documentation: Draft clear, precise build instructions for new revisions and engineering changes, ensuring technicians can execute builds consistently and correctly. - Maintenance Documentation: Develop and maintain maintenance procedures for drone systems, supporting reliability and serviceability throughout the product lifecycle. - Production Liaison: Coordinate with the production team to communicate changes to build processes, ensuring smooth implementation on the floor with minimal disruption to throughput or quality. - Build out quality assurance processes - Support root-cause investigations and process improvements tied to engineering changes. - Maintain version control and traceability of build/maintenance documentation as revisions are released. - Support training of production staff on new or updated build processes as needed. - Work with procurement to ensure purchasing happens in a timely manner - identify improvements in equipment, jigs, or assembly workflows, general shop management. Required Qualifications - - Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience). - Well versed with PCB manufacturing processes and quality standards, IPC class 2 and class 3. - Experience with CAD tools, PLM/ERP systems, and documentation platforms. - Well versed with manufacturing processes like fabrication, machining, anodizing, etc - 5+ years of industry experience in manufacturing engineering, ideally within aerospace, robotics, drones, or another complex hardware environment. - 2+ years of Management experience - Comfortable working across multiple software systems and platforms to manage documentation, revisions, and production data (PLM/ERP, file management systems, internal tools). - Experience or familiarity using AI coding/prompt-based tools (e.g., Codex, ChatGPT, Copilot) to support technical documentation, scripting, or process automation — including writing clear, effective prompts to get useful output. - Proven experience drafting technical build instructions, work instructions, or maintenance procedures. - Strong cross-functional communication skills — comfortable working between Engineering and Production teams. - Experience managing engineering change orders (ECOs) or similar revision-control processes. - Strong attention to detail and ability to translate technical designs into clear, actionable instructions for production technicians. Rainmaker is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Rainmaker is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status. Rainmaker participates in E-Verify. To learn more, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit E-Verify.gov http://e-verify.gov/.