Composite Manufacturing Engineer

Executive Alliance; Hauppauge (NY); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Executive Alliance seeks an experienced Composite Manufacturing Engineer to lead development of manufacturing processes for composite structures. The role involves designing tooling, defining work instructions, and ensuring compliance with DoD requirements.

You will collaborate across Engineering, Quality, and Manufacturing to drive process improvements. You will evaluate designs, support DFx initiatives, and lead root-cause investigations to resolve defects while advancing production readiness

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Manufacturing Engineering or related field.

Responsibilities

• Develop, optimize, and maintain composite manufacturing processes for structural components.
• Design and validate tooling, fixtures, and assembly aids for efficient manufacturing.
• Create and maintain manufacturing plans, work instructions, routers, process specs, and SOPs.

Skills

Composite manufacturing

Root cause analysis

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Technical problem solving

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace/Mechanical/Manufacturing Engineering

Tools

Siemens NX

CATIA

SolidWorks

Job description

Our client is seeking an experienced Composite Manufacturing Engineer with a strong background in composite materials, production processes and Department of Defense program requirements to join our team.

Job Function:

Responsibilities:

• Develop, optimize, and maintain manufacturing processes for composite structural components and assemblies, including hand layup, resin infusion, RTM, autoclave curing, and out-of-autoclave processes.
• Design, develop, and validate composite tooling, fixtures, templates, and assembly aids to support efficient manufacturing.
• Create and maintain manufacturing plans, work instructions, routers, process specifications, and standard operating procedures in accordance with customer, DoD, and company requirements.
• Develop and qualify composite materials, manufacturing processes, and tooling in compliance with MIL-STDs, aerospace OEM specifications, and program requirements.
• Develop layup, bonding, trimming, machining, drilling, curing, and assembly processes for composite structures.
• Evaluate engineering drawings, CAD models, and technical specifications to ensure manufacturability and support Design for Manufacturing (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA) initiatives.
• Collaborate with Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, Program Management, suppliers, and customers to support product development, production readiness, and process improvements.
• Lead root cause investigations and implement corrective actions for manufacturing issues, quality concerns, discrepancies, and nonconforming material.
• Support Material Review Board (MRB), First Article Inspection (FAI), process qualification, production readiness, and Engineering Change Order (ECO) implementation activities.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives focused on safety, quality, cost reduction, manufacturability, and production efficiency.

Job Requirement:

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Engineering, or a related field.
• Minimum of five (5) years of manufacturing engineering experience supporting composite materials in the aerospace or defense industry.
• Strong knowledge of composite manufacturing processes, including prepreg processing, hand layup, vacuum bagging, resin infusion, autoclave curing, out-of-autoclave curing, adhesive bonding, trimming, machining, and composite assembly.
• Experience using CAD software such as Siemens NX, CATIA, SolidWorks, or similar.
• Ability to interpret engineering drawings, GD&T (ASME Y14.5), MIL-SPECs, technical specifications, process standards, and ply books.
• Experience with manufacturing process development, tooling design, process validation, and production documentation.
• Knowledge of quality engineering principles, including FMEA, Statistical Process Control (SPC), root cause analysis, corrective actions, and failure analysis.
• Strong analytical, technical problem-solving, communication, and project management skills.
• Experience working in cross-functional engineering and manufacturing teams.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience supporting U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), military aerospace, or defense prime contractor programs.
• Experience supporting low-rate initial production (LRIP) and/or full-rate production environments.
• Experience with aerospace customer specifications such as Boeing BAC, Airbus AIPS, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, RTX (Raytheon), or similar.
• Knowledge of AS9100 Quality Management Systems, NADCAP special processes, and AS9102 First Article Inspection (FAI).