Composite Manufacturing Engineer

Executive Alliance; Hauppauge (NY); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Executive Alliance is seeking an experienced Composite Manufacturing Engineer in the United States to lead the development and optimization of composite manufacturing processes for aerospace and defense programs. The role focuses on hand layup, resin infusion, and autoclave curing, with responsibility for tooling, process documentation, and production readiness.

The ideal candidate has 5+ years of manufacturing engineering experience with composites, strong CAD skills (Siemens NX, CATIA,

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Engineering, or related field.
• Minimum of five (5) years of manufacturing engineering experience with composite materials in aerospace/defense.
• Experience with composite manufacturing processes and tooling development.

Responsibilities

• Develop, optimize, and maintain composite manufacturing processes (hand layup, resin infusion, RTM, autoclave curing).
• Design and validate tooling, fixtures, templates, and assembly aids for efficient manufacturing.
• Create and maintain manufacturing plans, work instructions, routers, process specs, and SOPs per DoD and company requirements.
• Develop and qualify materials, processes, and tooling per MIL-STDs and aerospace specs.
• Lead DFx initiatives to ensure manufacturability and DFA alignment.
• Evaluate drawings, CAD models, and specifications for manufacturability and DFMA.
• Lead root-cause investigations and implement corrective actions for manufacturing issues.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Technical problem solving

Communication

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace 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).