Senior Manufacturing Engineer

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement manufacturing processes for rotorcraft structures, mechanical assemblies, powertrain components, and aircraft systems.
• Translate engineering drawings, specifications, and design intent into production-ready manufacturing plans.
• Design and validate production layouts, tooling, fixtures, and workstations.
• Establish standard work, manufacturing instructions, and process documentation.
• Provide hands-on engineering support to the factory floor, resolving technical issues affecting production, quality, or schedule.
• Serve as the technical authority for manufacturing processes within assigned production areas.
• Mentor junior engineers and manufacturing technicians.
• Lead Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and operational excellence initiatives.
• Analyze production performance metrics including: throughput, first-pass yield, cycle time, cost of quality.
• Identify opportunities to increase productivity, reduce waste, and improve product quality.
• Support introduction of new helicopter models, aircraft modifications, and configuration changes.
• Lead manufacturability reviews and Design for Manufacturing & Assembly (DFMA) assessments.
• Develop tooling strategies and process qualification plans.
• Ensure manufacturing processes meet aerospace regulatory and quality requirements including: FAA regulations, AS9100 quality management systems, internal quality procedures.
• Participate in root cause analysis and corrective actions for production issues.
• Identify and justify advanced manufacturing technologies, including automation, robotics, CNC machining, and digital manufacturing tools.
• Lead capital equipment selection, specification, and commissioning.
• Cross-coordinate with: Design Engineering, Quality Assurance, Production Control, Supply Chain, Tooling and Maintenance to support production planning and execution to meet aircraft delivery schedules.

Qualifications

• Required: Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or related engineering discipline.
• Required: 8+ years of manufacturing engineering experience.
• Preferred: Experience in rotorcraft or aircraft manufacturing, familiarity with FAA Part 21 / production certification environments, knowledge of aerospace materials, experience with CNC machining, assembly lines, or automated manufacturing systems, project management experience leading cross-functional engineering initiatives.