Job Description

Sustaining Engineer – Post‑Exhaust Operations (TWT Manufacturing)

Are you passionate about solving complex manufacturing challenges and driving product reliability? As a Sustaining Engineer, you will play a critical role in ensuring the performance, quality, and throughput of post‑exhaust manufacturing processes for Traveling Wave Tubes (TWTs). Working directly on the factory floor, you’ll collaborate cross‑functionally with Operations, Engineering, and Quality teams to troubleshoot issues, improve yield, and keep production running smoothly. Your work will directly impact product integrity and customer satisfaction in a high‑reliability environment.

What you’ll do

• Own and support all post‑exhaust manufacturing operations, including preparation, packaging, testing, and release to shipment

• Monitor production performance, identify trends, and implement improvements to stabilize yield and throughput

• Lead troubleshooting of electrical, mechanical, RF, and packaging‑related issues on the production floor

• Conduct root cause and corrective action investigations using structured problem‑solving methods

• Partner with Engineering and Quality teams to resolve failures and prevent recurrence

• Ensure seamless process handoffs between production stages to avoid defect propagation

• Translate production challenges into clear technical problem statements and escalate as needed

• Support daily production meetings, yield reviews, and issue‑tracking activities

• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to reduce scrap, rework, and cycle time

• Update procedures, test instructions, and documentation in alignment with quality and configuration standards

What you need

• Strong troubleshooting and problem‑solving skills in complex electro‑mechanical or RF systems – required

• Hands‑on experience working in a manufacturing or production environment – required

• Experience leading or participating in root cause and corrective action investigations – required

• Ability to collaborate across cross‑functional teams and communicate technical issues clearly – required

• Experience in high‑reliability industries (e.g., aerospace, defense, RF or vacuum electronics) – required

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Physics, or related field – required

• Experience with vacuum devices, high‑voltage RF hardware, or TWTs – preferred

• Familiarity with testing processes, data interpretation, and contamination‑sensitive environments – preferred

• Must be a U.S. citizen and able to obtain and maintain a government security clearance (required)

What we offer

• Opportunity to work on advanced, high‑reliability technologies

• Hands‑on, impactful role with visibility across engineering and operations teams

• Collaborative environment focused on innovation and continuous improvement

• Career growth within a technically challenging manufacturing setting

What happens next

Once you apply, your application will be reviewed by our recruiting and engineering teams. Qualified candidates will be contacted via email or phone to begin the interview process, which may include technical and team interviews.

Salary Range:

The anticipated salary range listed for this role is only an estimate. Actual compensation for successful candidates is carefully determined based on several factors including, but not limited to, location, local regulations (such as minimum wage), education/training, work experience, key skills, and type of position.