Aircraft Planning Engineer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

About Electra

At Electra, we're building the EL9 - a nine-passenger, hybrid-electric aircraft that takes off and lands in 150 feet. Our Ultra Short technology unlocks thousands of new operating locations and enables what we call Direct Aviation: quiet, point-to-point regional travel that gets people from where they are to where they want to go, without the congestion of major airports or the noise of conventional aviation.

A global company, headquartered in Manassas, VA, Electra is backed by Lockheed Martin, Honeywell, and Safran, has filed for FAA Part 23 type certification, and carries 2,000+ intent to purchase from operators worldwide. We're a team of ~100 people moving fast toward first EL9 test flights in 2027 and certification by late 2029 or 2030. Every hire matters at this stage - and this role is no exception.

The Role

As a Senior Manufacturing Planning Engineer, you'll be the hands-on planner who turns engineering releases into practical build plans for our prototype aircraft and related test articles. The center of gravity of this role is the engineering drawing release curve and prototype production planning - connecting release status, configuration maturity, material availability, assembly logic, and test needs into clear, realistic plans the team can build to.

Because we're a lean development organization, you'll also flex into adjacent industrial integration work: assembly precedence, schedule integration, supplier and tooling milestones, and basic cost and risk tracking. This isn't a senior roadmap or factory-strategy role - it's a pragmatic, structured builder who brings simple, mature planning solutions, connects the dots across functions, and helps the team make better decisions with clear data.

What You'll Do

• Develop and maintain prototype aircraft build plans that align engineering release dates, configuration maturity, material availability, tooling readiness, and assembly needs
• Build and maintain the engineering drawing release curve that supports manufacturing and assembly activities
• Translate engineering release status into manufacturing planning impacts, risks, and priorities
• Manage planning configuration and effectivity assumptions for each prototype aircraft and test specimen, including travelled work, retrofit, rework, and configuration differences between aircraft
• Track drawing release gaps, build constraints, long-lead needs, and risks to manufacturing readiness, and maintain planning trackers, schedules, and status reports in MS Project
• Keep Product Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Production, Test, Supply Chain, Quality, and Logistics working from a common planning baseline
• Provide planning support for test specimens and development hardware, connecting engineering release priorities with build and test campaign needs
• Serve as backup for the assembly precedence network, keeping build planning aligned with the aircraft build sequence and assessing the impact of design changes, late releases, tooling constraints, or material gaps
• Integrate prototype build plans into the broader industrial master schedule and track supplier, tooling, systems, and development milestones that affect readiness
• Support basic industrial and development cost tracking, flag schedule, cost, configuration, and readiness risks early with practical mitigations, and contribute clear planning data to executive status reporting
• Capture lessons learned from prototype builds and translate them into serial production planning inputs

What You Bring

• 8+ years of experience in production planning, manufacturing planning, industrial engineering, manufacturing engineering, or production control in aerospace, aircraft, defense, advanced mobility, or complex hardware
• Practical understanding of how engineering releases, bills of material, material availability, tooling, assembly sequence, quality gates, and production schedules interact
• Proven ability to work in a development environment where requirements, designs, schedules, and priorities evolve
• Strong working knowledge of MS Project
• Ability to build clear, practical planning structures, schedules, reports, and follow-up mechanisms, and to identify risks and gaps early and communicate them clearly
• Strong analytical, organizational, and communication skills, with comfort working cross-functionally across engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, quality, logistics, production, and test
• Hands-on mindset with the ability to operate at both detailed planning and cross-functional coordination levels
• US Person (Citizen or Permanent Resident) required

Bonus Points

• Experience with aircraft prototype builds, flight test articles, test specimens, low-rate initial production, or development hardware
• Participation in clean-sheet aircraft development programs, Part 23 aircraft, eVTOL, advanced air mobility, business aviation, or defense aircraft - especially where engineering release maturity, test articles, and industrial readiness had to be connected
• Familiarity with drawing release planning, configuration effectivity, manufacturing build planning, and prototype production control
• Exposure to assembly precedence networks, build sequence planning, manufacturing master schedules, or station logic
• Exposure to supplier readiness, tooling milestones, factory readiness, or ramp-up planning, and basic familiarity with industrial cost tracking, CAPEX/OPEX, or schedule-risk trade-offs
• Familiarity with Primavera P6, ERP, PLM, MES, QMS, or production control systems
• Exposure to AS9100, aerospace quality requirements, conformity, or production certificate environments

Compensation

$105,000 – $125,000 annually. This range reflects the anticipated hiring range across all eligible locations; actual compensation is determined based on your relevant experience, skills, and geographic location. Total compensation includes performance bonus and comprehensive benefits.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary and equity
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance; STD, LTD, and life insurance
• Generous PTO, sick leave, and company holidays
• Paid winter break
• 401(k) with immediate vesting
• Free catered lunches, coffee, snacks, and drinks at our Manassas headquarters
• Free on-site parking