Manufacturing Engineer – Rubber/Elastomers

Location: Brea, CA (On-site, Monday–Friday)

Salary: Competitive salary depending on experience

Type: Full-time, Direct Hire

About the Company

Our client is a well-established aerospace and defense manufacturer with more than 100 years of history, specializing in high-performance elastomer and polymer components. Their products fly on commercial, military and business aircraft worldwide, as well as on missiles, space launchers and satellites, including sole-source components on major Boeing, Airbus and F-35 programs. As part of a large global aerospace group, they offer the stability of a major organization with the hands-on impact of a focused manufacturing team.

About the Role

We’re looking for a hands-on Manufacturing Engineer with rubber and elastomer experience to support and improve production. You’ll troubleshoot processes on the floor, design tooling, and drive continuous improvement across molding, extrusion and composite/plastics operations.

What You’ll Do

Support daily production of rubber and elastomer components, troubleshooting process, mold and quality issues on the shop floor
Design and improve tooling, molds, fixtures and workholding to raise quality and efficiency
Lead root cause analysis and corrective action (RCCA) for production and quality issues
Drive continuous improvement projects using lean principles to reduce scrap, cycle time and cost
Support compression molding, extrusion, and composite and plastics processes
Create and maintain work instructions, process documentation and manufacturing aids
Work cross-functionally with production, quality, tooling and operations leadership
Support new product introduction and process changes from trial through full production

What You’ll Bring

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Chemical, Materials or Manufacturing Engineering, or equivalent experience
3+ years of manufacturing or process engineering experience
Hands-on experience with rubber or elastomer manufacturing (required)
Experience with composites, plastics, compression molding and/or extrusion (strongly preferred)
Proven troubleshooting, tooling design and continuous improvement experience
Strong problem-solving skills using RCCA, 8D or similar methods
Ability to manage multiple projects in a fast-paced production environment
Aerospace, defense or AS9100 experience is a plus
Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident (ITAR)

Why Join

Competitive salary and benefits
Hands-on ownership of processes with real impact on production
Stability with a growing aerospace manufacturer
Room to grow into senior engineering roles