Aerospace Manufacturing Process Engineer – APQP/VWI Specialist

Step into the flow of production excellence

When the factory lights come on, youre already connecting drawings to deliverables. Youll be the hub for operations, translating design intent into reliable, efficient build plans. By mid-morning, youre refining Visual Work Instructions (VWI), aligning tooling and equipment with Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) standards, and validating that every step of the process meets stringent customer and internal requirements. In the afternoon, you might be shoulder-to-shoulder with a Production Support Team solving a quality escape via Root Cause and Preventive Actions, or partnering with estimating to scope a new customer opportunity. By days end, youve moved the needleeliminating waste, tightening cost targets, and preparing the next iteration of continuous improvement.

What youll own

• Serve as the technical focal for assigned projects, ensuring compliance with procurement specifications and validating manufacturing processes against all customer and internal criteria.
• Translate design requirements (drawings/specifications) into production-ready documentation in accordance with APQP, including clear, concise VWI.
• Determine equipment needs, tooling plans, cellular manufacturing layouts, and originate new manufacturing and tooling concepts.
• Apply operation time standards; develop Work Combination Sheets (WCS) and ensure manufacturability of detail parts, sub-assemblies, and top assemblies.
• Lead or contribute to Production Support Teams to resolve manufacturing issues; conduct thorough Root Cause and Preventive Actions for nonconformances.
• Support New Product Introduction (NPI) through initial build cycles; review and release planning documents; coordinate tooling design for manufacturing/assembly.
• Drive cost-reduction initiatives and waste elimination; provide robust data to the quoting/estimating process and prepare improvement reports.
• Act as a potential liaison between Senior Aerospace SSP manufacturing and customer cognizant engineering; collaborate with suppliers to develop processes and correct issues.
• Ensure all engineering changes are fully documented and implemented; review production drawings for technical accuracy and propose credible solutions on product, tooling, and processes.
• Perform, document, and validate processes such as machining, forming, stamping, heat treating, and chemical processing across materials: Titanium, Inconel, Aluminum, Stainless Steel, and O1/D2 tooling steels.

How your role evolves

The Manufacturing Manager defines role-specific responsibilities based on your expertise. These are revisited at least annuallyideally during performance reviews or as organizational needs evolveensuring your growth stays aligned with business priorities.

Background youll bring

• BS in Mechanical Engineering (or related field) with 3+ years of engineering experience, preferably in aerospace; or MS in Mechanical (or related) with 2+ years in aerospace.
• Experience in fast-paced manufacturing environments preferred.
• Familiarity with sheet metal processes (welding, forming, NDT, etc.), aerospace materials, and geometric tolerances (GD&T) preferred.

Skills that set you up for success

• Language: Excellent written and verbal communication; able to read, compose, present, and train in English; confident presenting to large groups.
• Reasoning: Strong practical judgment; comfortable following detailed written/oral instructions and solving problems with many concrete variables.
• Math: Fluent with averages, summations, standard deviations, trends, proportions, and percentages.
• Other: Outstanding problem-solving; effective both independently and in teams. Preferred knowledge in aircraft ECS ducting; sheet metal and aerospace materials; forming, welding, machining, heat treating; basic NDT and geometric tolerance. Working knowledge of MRP/ERP requirements and order generation logic.

EAR/ITAR Compliance:

Access to our facility (and, therefore, employment) is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and/ or Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to U.S. Citizens, lawful permanent residents, U.S. refugees, asylees or temporary residents under amnesty provisions [as defined in 8 USC 1324b(a)(3)] and properly licensed foreign persons. Applicants receiving a conditional offer of employment will be required to provide information to determine whether they are subject to these regulations and, if so, to assess their country of chargeability for export control purposes. Additionally, potential employees names will be screened against the Consolidated Screening List (maintained by the United States government) to determine eligibility to receive technical data.

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