Principal Engineer - Design for Automation

About the role

Sikorsky Innovations seeks a Principal Engineer – Design for Automation to establish engineering methodologies for automated production of the next generation of Sikorsky aircraft. This role focuses on product design at the earliest stages of development, ensuring manufacturing readiness is a fundamental design requirement.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement Design for Automation methodologies for next-generation rotorcraft programs.
• Establish engineering standards, design guidelines, and best practices that enable highly automated manufacturing and assembly.
• Partner with aircraft design teams throughout the product development lifecycle to incorporate automation, manufacturability, affordability, quality, and production readiness into product designs.
• Define engineering design requirements that enable efficient, scalable, and highly automated production systems.
• Evaluate emerging manufacturing technologies and integrate their capabilities into future engineering methodologies and product development processes.
• Collaborate with manufacturing, industrial engineering, automation, and operations teams to translate manufacturing capabilities into engineering design standards.
• Serve as a technical leader for Design for Automation across Sikorsky's next-generation aircraft development efforts.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• 15 or more years of progressive engineering experience in product design, advanced manufacturing, manufacturing engineering, or New Product Introduction.
• Demonstrated experience designing complex mechanical systems while partnering closely with manufacturing organizations.
• Experience supporting New Product Introduction from concept through production launch.
• Experience developing or implementing automated manufacturing cells, production systems, or advanced manufacturing processes.
• Knowledge of Design for Manufacturing, Design for Assembly, and Design for Automation principles.
• Experience developing engineering standards, design methodologies, or technical best practices.
• Proven ability to influence cross-functional engineering teams and drive technical direction without direct authority.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Experience developing clean-sheet products or next-generation platforms.
• Experience designing products for highly automated manufacturing environments.
• Experience integrating manufacturing requirements into product design during early development.
• Knowledge of robotics, digital engineering, digital twins, Model-Based Engineering, Model-Based Systems Engineering, Industry 4.0, or intelligent manufacturing technologies.
• Experience with advanced composites, lightweight structures, or complex mechanical assemblies.
• Systems-thinking mindset with the ability to balance product performance, manufacturability, automation, affordability, and production scalability.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills with the ability to influence multidisciplinary engineering organizations.

Skills

• Experience with emerging manufacturing technologies and their integration into engineering methodologies and product development processes.
• Ability to evaluate and recommend new manufacturing technologies.
• Strong understanding of automation and its impact on product design and manufacturing processes.
• Expertise in design for manufacturing, assembly, and automation principles.
• Proficiency in using tools and techniques for design for automation.

Benefits

• Full-Time Salary Range: $178,500.00 - $331,500.00
• Comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, flexible work arrangements, 401(k) match, paid time off, holidays, parental leave, EAP, flexible spending accounts, education assistance, life insurance, short-term disability, and long-term disability.
• Annual short-term and/or long-term incentive compensation programs may be offered depending on the position.