Engineering Manager Aerospace Manufacturing

Akkodis; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 350,000 - 520,000; Full time

Job summary

Akkodis seeks an experienced Engineering Manager to lead the forging and metallurgy functions in an aerospace manufacturing setting in Abu Dhabi. This role acts as the technical authority for the plant, steering process engineering, qualification and readiness across multiple high-performance materials.

Responsibilities include leading teams, guiding process improvements, NPI, and ensuring manufacturing readiness for forged aerospace components, while collaborating with QA, supply chain and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Metallurgy, Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or Manufacturing Engineering.
• Significant aerospace/regulated manufacturing experience with forged components.
• Experience leading engineering teams and senior technical decisions.
• Strong knowledge of forging processes, materials and heat treatment.

Responsibilities

• Lead engineering function supporting forged aerospace and aero-engine components.
• Act as technical authority across forging, metallurgy, and manufacturing decisions.
• Oversee forging process development, industrialisation, qualification and continuous improvement.
• Lead root-cause analysis and resolution of manufacturing defects and non-conformities.
• Drive NPI, production readiness, first-part qualification and process validation.

Skills

Forging engineering

Metallurgy

Aerospace manufacturing

Process engineering

NPI readiness

PFMEA / SPC

Root-cause analysis

Education

Metallurgy / Materials / Mechanical / Manufacturing Eng

Job description

We are looking for an experienced Engineering Manager to join a highly technical aerospace manufacturing environment in Abu Dhabi, with a strong focus on forging, metallurgy and aero-engine component manufacturing.

This is not a purely industrialisation or project-management role. The position will act as a technical authority for the plant, providing engineering leadership across forging processes, materials, manufacturing methods, qualification and production readiness.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the engineering function supporting forged aerospace and aero-engine components.
• Act as a senior technical authority across forging, metallurgy, process engineering and manufacturing decisions.
• Challenge process owners and engineering teams on technical decisions, process capability and manufacturing trade-offs.
• Oversee forging process development, industrialisation, qualification and continuous improvement.
• Support manufacturing of components in titanium, nickel-based superalloys and other high-performance aerospace materials.
• Provide technical leadership across tooling, dies, heat treatment, machining interfaces and downstream manufacturing processes.
• Lead root-cause analysis and resolution of complex manufacturing defects and non-conformities.
• Drive NPI, production readiness, first-part qualification and process validation activities.
• Support equipment selection, commissioning, capability development and production ramp-up.
• Define and maintain engineering standards, process controls and technical documentation.
• Work closely with Production, Quality, Supply Chain and external suppliers/OEM stakeholders.
• Lead and develop engineering teams while maintaining a strong hands-on technical presence.

Requirements

• Strong background in forging process engineering and/or metallurgy within aerospace, aero-engine, gas-turbine or another highly regulated advanced-manufacturing environment.
• Significant hands-on experience with forged components and forging process development.
• Strong knowledge of titanium and/or nickel-based superalloys.
• Experience in areas such as hot forging, closed-die forging, ring rolling, heat treatment, tooling/dies, process parameters and defect analysis.
• Strong understanding of process capability, PFMEA, SPC, root-cause analysis and manufacturing qualification.
• Experience with NPI, industrialisation, production readiness and process validation.
• Previous experience as a Senior Process Engineer, Metallurgist, Process Owner, Technical Authority, Principal Engineer or similar, progressing into engineering leadership.
• Proven experience leading engineering teams and making senior technical decisions.
• Aerospace quality-system exposure such as AS9100 / AS13100 / OEM-specific standards is highly desirable.
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Metallurgy, Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering or a related discipline.

Preferred

• Direct aero-engine component manufacturing experience.
• Experience with turbine discs, shafts, rings, blades or other forged engine components.
• Greenfield / new-facility / equipment commissioning exposure.
• Strong supplier qualification and OEM interface experience.
• Lean / Six Sigma / continuous improvement background.