Lead Manufacturing Engineer, Harnessing

Why Castelion, Why Now Castelion is moving incredibly fast to develop and deliver advanced defense systems at a time when execution matters more than ever. We believe focus, ownership, and excellence are decisive advantages - and we're building a world-class team to turn bold ideas into real capability. This is a rare opportunity to join at an early stage, where you'll have significant ownership, collaborate with exceptional teammates, and make a direct, measurable impact on our mission and the future of the company - regardless of your function. Lead Manufacturing Engineer, Harnessing Castelion is seeking a Lead Manufacturing Engineer to own the development, qualification, and scaling of manufacturing processes for wiring harnesses, cable assemblies, interconnect systems, and associated test systems. This role will serve as the technical manufacturing lead for harnessing, driving both in-house and supplier capabilities from prototype development through high-rate production in support of next-generation defense systems. Key Outcomes for 2026 • Build & Develop the Harness Manufacturing Team – help grow a high-performing team of manufacturing engineers and technicians by supporting recruiting, interviewing, onboarding, training, and technical development. Establish clear technical standards, ownership, and expectations that enable the team to operate effectively as production scales. • Establish & Scale In-House Harness Manufacturing Capability – own the manufacturing strategy, process architecture, tooling standards, work instructions, training, and production flows required to build and test high-reliability harness assemblies at increasing production rates. • Establish & Qualify a Production Harness Supply Chain – lead the identification, evaluation, qualification, and development of external harness suppliers. Define supplier capability requirements, workmanship standards, test coverage, audit criteria, and process validation requirements to ensure suppliers can meet production, quality, and schedule needs. • Drive On-Time, Defect-Free Harness Production – own manufacturing execution and readiness for harness assemblies supporting development, qualification, and production vehicles. Establish quality gates, production metrics, and escalation mechanisms that prevent workmanship, continuity, electrical, and configuration defects from reaching integration. • Build a Scalable Harness Manufacturing System – identify and implement the equipment, automation, test infrastructure, workforce development, and process improvements required to transition harness production from prototype builds to repeatable, high-rate manufacturing. Responsibilities • Manufacturing Process Ownership – own harness manufacturing processes from incoming material through fabrication, inspection, electrical test, and final acceptance. Develop and maintain work instructions, MBOMs, process flows, tooling requirements, and manufacturing specifications. • Technical & Team Leadership – serve as the manufacturing technical authority for harness fabrication and test. Mentor engineers and technicians, support hiring and onboarding, establish best practices, develop technical capability across the team, resolve complex manufacturing issues, and drive standardization across harness programs. • Supplier Development & Qualification – partner with Supply Chain and Quality to qualify and develop external harness suppliers. Lead supplier audits, process reviews, capability assessments, production readiness reviews, and corrective actions. • Design for Manufacturing & Test – partner with design engineering throughout the product lifecycle to improve manufacturability, testability, connector selection, routing, strain relief, serviceability, and assembly robustness. Drive DFM/DFT recommendations before designs are released to production. • Testing & Validation – develop and implement harness test strategies and automated test systems for continuity, insulation resistance, dielectric withstand/HiPot, functional verification, and environmental screening when required. • Manufacturing Readiness & Risk Reduction – lead manufacturing readiness reviews, process qualification activities, capability studies, and production risk assessments to ensure designs and processes are ready to scale. • Continuous Improvement & Production Metrics – establish and drive improvements in first-pass yield, defect rates, throughput, labor efficiency, cycle time, and cost. Use production data and Lean methodologies to identify and eliminate manufacturing constraints. Requirements & Qualifications • Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Manufacturing, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical discipline. • 4+ years of manufacturing engineering experience in wiring harnesses, cable assemblies, electrical integration, or electromechanical hardware. • Demonstrated experience owning manufacturing processes and scaling hardware from prototype through production. • Strong hands-on technical capability and ability to lead engineers and technicians through complex manufacturing challenges. • Must be authorized to work in the U.S. and comply with ITAR eligibility requirements. Preferred Skills & Experience • Experience with high-reliability aerospace or defense harness manufacturing. • Familiarity with IPC/WHMA-A-620, NASA-STD-8739.4, or similar workmanship standards. • Experience with continuity, insulation resistance, dielectric withstand/HiPot, and functional electrical testing. • Experience with DFM, manufacturing readiness reviews, root-cause analysis, and process qualification. • Experience developing and qualifying external harness suppliers. • Experience building, mentoring, and technically leading manufacturing engineering and technician teams. Castelion offers a generous benefits package. Please refer to the bottom of our Careers page for more details. Other Duties Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice. Additional Eligibility Requirements This position may require access to classified information or restricted U.S. Government sites, systems, or information, as determined by the Company and/or applicable U.S. Government requirements. If the position is so designated, your employment in the role may be contingent upon your ability to obtain and maintain the required U.S. Government security clearance or other government authorization, and to satisfy any citizenship or other eligibility requirements imposed by applicable law, regulation, executive order, or government contract requirements. You will be notified if and when such requirements apply. Affirmative Action/EEO Statement Castelion is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. Castelion is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities throughout the application and hiring process. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete an application, participate in the interview process, or otherwise participate in the hiring process, please contact hr@castelion.com. Requests for accommodation will be considered on an individual basis and handled in accordance with applicable law. Castelion is committed to fostering a workplace where employment decisions are based on qualifications, business needs, and the ability to perform the essential functions of the role, with or without reasonable accommodation. EAR/ITAR Requirement