Manufacturing Engineer

ABOUT ZEPHER

Zepher Inc. is an AS9100D-certified, ITAR-registered precision machining and assembly contract manufacturer in Bingen, Washington. We build flight-critical parts for world-class aerospace and defense customers — work where precision matters and the traceability matters just as much.

We are a small company in an active growth phase, and we are hiring for the long run. This is not a slot in a large engineering org. It is the manufacturing engineering function, and we are looking for someone who wants to own it and grow with the company as it gets bigger.

THE ROLE

You own the technical picture of a part from quote through execution. You are in the room when we price it. You decide how it gets made. You are on the phone when the customer has a question about it. And you are on the floor when the first one runs. Very few engineering jobs span that entire arc — this one does.

That range is the job. You need to move from interpreting a specification at your desk to problem solving with machinists, to establishing manufacturing processes on the floor.

Near term, you will be central to sharpening our core machining operations and expanding capacity, and you will own the assembly work we do today that includes both basic mechanical assembly and some legacy integrated assembly projects. Over the next 12 to 24 months we intend to move back up the value chain into more integrated assembly, and you will lead that when we get there. We would rather give you the sequence straight than oversell year one.

This is an individual contributor role — no direct reports, by design. You will have deep in-house expertise to lean on in machining and quality, and you will work directly with company leadership. We are looking for capability and trajectory, not years on a résumé.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Support quoting with technical review. During the RFQ process, identify where the technical risk actually lives in a new part so it can be understood and budgeted before we commit to a price and a date.

• Engineer new jobs. Read and interpret customer drawings and specifications. Select rivets, primers, finishes, and manufacturing processes. Choose and manage outside processors. Create masking drawings. Write the process notes and specification callouts the shop and our suppliers work from.

• Talk directly to our customers. You will be in direct contact with customer engineering teams — resolving drawing ambiguities and GD&T questions, negotiating process notes, working non-conformances to disposition, and partnering on process development for new part families. You are Zepher’s technical judgment in those conversations.

• Own our assembly processes. Develop manufacturing processes for the assembly work we do today — primarily fastener and rivet work — write the work instructions, and train the team to run them.

• Sharpen our core operations and help expand capacity. Improve how existing work runs — process definition, fixturing, tooling, setup reduction, cycle time — and support bringing on additional machining capacity as we grow.

• Work hands-on. Build, prove out, and troubleshoot in production.

• Support inspection and the floor. Help work through difficult callouts and non-conformances, support CMM measurement strategy alongside our CMM programmer, and troubleshoot with the machine shop team when a part isn’t behaving.

• Lead our move into integrated assembly, when we get there. As we take on more complete assemblies over the next 12 to 24 months, you will stand up those programs — processes, bills of materials, build sequence, and training.

WHAT YOU BRING

Required

• Prior aerospace industry experience. This one is not negotiable — you need to already understand what flight-critical work demands.

• Strong ability to read and interpret customer drawings and specifications, including GD&T to ASME Y14.5.

• Working fluency with CAD-based tools.

• A strong manufacturing background, ideally including hands-on machining experience. We want someone who has stood at the machine, not only in front of a screen.

• Agile problem solving. Real parts do not behave the way the textbook says. You need to diagnose quickly, decide with incomplete information, and change course when the first answer doesn’t hold.

• Range and adaptability. You will shift between office work and floor execution. You will be in customer meetings some days, suppliers’ others, and on the production floor as well as in front of a computer.

• Organized self-starter. Managing your priorities and schedule needs to be something that comes easily. There will not be someone actively managing your day-to-day. You will be responsible for outcomes.

• Excellent communication, written and verbal. You will represent Zepher directly to our customers.

• The judgment to know what you don’t know, and the initiative to go find out.

• U.S. Person status as defined by ITAR (22 CFR §120.62), required for access to export-controlled technical data.

Helpful, not required

• Structural assembly and riveting — hole prep, fastener selection, sealants.

• Specifying and managing outside processes — anodize, chem film, passivation, heat treat, NDT, paint.

• Masking requirements and masking drawings for chemical processing.

• Fixturing, tooling, and setup reduction on CNC equipment.

• CMM programming or inspection planning

• Assembly process development and bill of materials structuring in an ERP.

• AS9102 first article inspection.

• Epicor or comparable ERP.

A note on background: we care about what you can do, not how you got there. Engineers who came up through the shop — machinists and CNC programmers who moved into planning and process work — are strongly encouraged to apply.

WHY ZEPHER

• The whole arc. Quote to shipment, desk to floor. You will not be handed a narrow slice of someone else’s process.

• World-class customers who want more from us. You will work directly with customer engineering teams in relationships that are already strong and actively growing.

• Established company, startup freedom. Real customers, real certifications, real revenue — without the layers. Decisions get made in days.

• A four-day week. We run 4×10, Monday through Thursday.

• The Columbia River Gorge. Bingen sits on the river between Hood River and the Cascades — world-class wind sports, mountain biking, climbing, and Mt. Hood an hour away.

• Short lines to leadership. You will work directly with company leadership. No layers between you and the decisions.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

Salary range: $90,000 – $110,000 annually, depending on experience and demonstrated capability.

Zepher offers a benefits package that includes:

• Medical coverage through Aetna, with a choice of HSA and PPO plans. Zepher contributes toward employee and family premiums.

• Dental coverage, with a Zepher contribution toward premiums.

• Vision coverage and life insurance, fully covered by Zepher.

• 401(k) retirement plan.

• Paid time off and paid holidays

• Equity / Profit-sharing opportunity

Zepher Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

This position requires access to export-controlled technical data. Applicants must qualify as a U.S. Person under ITAR (22 CFR §120.62).

Pay: $90,000.00 - $110,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Work Location: In person