Early Career R&D Manufacturing Engineer

Hexcel Corporation; Salt Lake City (UT); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Hexcel Corporation is seeking an Early Career R&D Manufacturing Engineer at its Salt Lake City, Utah location. You will gain hands-on experience with advanced composite materials, supporting R&D, product development, scale-up, and customer-facing activities.

The role emphasizes transitioning products from development to production, collaborating with cross-functional teams, and building expertise in prepreg manufacturing technologies.

Qualifications

• Experience in aerospace composites processing, manufacturing, or automation is preferred.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to collaborate across teams.
• Experience interpreting customer specifications, engineering requirements, safety requirements, SOPs, and maintenance instructions.

Responsibilities

• Manage pilot-scale prepreg processing equipment and manufacturing activities in R&D.
• Lead new product development and scale-up from pilot to full-scale production.
• Partner with R&D, Product Management, and Technical Service to support product initiatives.
• Develop expertise in prepreg and composite manufacturing technologies including AFP/ATL/RTM.
• Interface with customers as a technical representative for trials and evaluations.
• Build toward SME status in composite materials, applications, and manufacturing technologies.

Skills

Aerospace composites experience

Technical writing

Data analysis

Detail-oriented

Verbal and written communication

Customer specifications interpretation

Team collaboration

Travel up to 15%

Education

Master's degree in Engineering

Bachelor's degree with at least one year of relevant experience

PhD candidates with composites industry experience preferred

Tools

SolidWorks

Minitab

Microsoft Office Suite (Word/Excel/PowerPoint/Outlook/Teams/SharePoint)

Job description

With our strong investment in research and development and our culture of continuous improvement, Hexcel is the industry leader in the manufacturing of advanced lightweight composite materials, including carbon fiber, woven reinforcements, resins, prepregs, honeycombs and engineered core and composite structures.

We invite you to join the Hexcel team at various manufacturing sites, sales offices, and R&D centers around the globe. Become a part of the "strength within. "talent" Participants work alongside experienced professionals while contributing to complex, high-impact projects that support Hexcel's advanced composites business. Over the course of the two-year program, participants will complete two 12-month assignments, gaining broad exposure to Hexcel's technologies, products, manufacturing processes, customers, and business operations. Through hands-on experience, mentorship, and cross-functional collaboration, participants will build the technical, business, and leadership capabilities needed for long-term success at Hexcel.

Upon completion of the program, graduates will be positioned to pursue opportunities that align with their strengths, interests, and career goals while continuing to make meaningful contributions to Hexcel's future.

Hexcel is currently seeking an Early Career R&D Manufacturing Engineer for our Salt Lake City, Utah location. In this role, you will gain hands-on experience with advanced composite materials and manufacturing technologies while supporting R&D, product development, scale-up, and customer-facing activities.

The selected individual will be responsible for but not limited to the following obligations:

• Manage pilot-scale prepreg processing equipment and manufacturing activities in support of R&D programs for internal and external customers.
• Lead new product development and scale-up activities, transitioning fiber, resin, film, and prepreg products from pilot-scale development to full-scale production within Hexcel manufacturing facilities.
• Partner with internal R&D, Product Management, and Technical Service & Development teams to support product development initiatives.
• Develop expertise in prepreg manufacturing and composite manufacturing technologies, including Automated Fiber Placement (AFP), Automated Tape Laying (ATL), Resin Transfer Molding (RTM), and infusion processes.
• Collaborate with Hexcel colleagues globally to exchange technical knowledge, best practices, and lessons learned.
• Develop a strong understanding of Hexcel materials and how customers and manufacturers use them in composite manufacturing applications.
• Interface directly with customers as a technical representative of Hexcel, supporting customer trials, material evaluations, process qualifications, and production implementation.
• Build toward becoming a subject matter expert in composite materials, applications, and manufacturing technologies.

Qualifications:

• Recent graduate or post-graduate at the start of your career; relevant work experience preferred.
• Degree in a relevant engineering discipline such as:
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Composites Engineering
  • Materials Science or Materials Engineering
  • Manufacturing Engineering
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Minimum education requirement:
    • Master's degree, or
    • Bachelor's degree with at least one year of relevant industry experience
• PhD candidates with composites industry experience are preferred.

• Aerospace composites experience, particularly in composite processing, manufacturing, or automation, is preferred.
• Strong technical writing, data collection, and analytical skills.
• Strong attention to detail with the ability to prioritize work and meet deadlines.
• Ability to interpret and work with customer specifications, engineering requirements, safety requirements, standard operating procedures, and maintenance instructions.
• Strong computer skills, including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and SharePoint.
• Experience with SolidWorks and Minitab is preferred.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to collaborate across technical and cross-functional teams.
• Ability to effectively interact with customers and communicate technical information to a variety of audiences.
• Ability to travel within the U.S. up to 15%.
• Qualified candidates must be U.S. Persons or US Citizens

Eligible candidate must be: U.S. citizen, U.S. national, a person lawfully admitted for permanent residence, a temporary resident under sections 210(a) or 245(A) of the Act, a person admitted in refugee status, a person granted asylum. Hexcel (NYSE: HXL) is a global leader in advanced composites technology, a leading producer of carbon fiber, and the world leader in honeycomb manufacturing for the commercial aerospace industry.

Hexcel is an Equal Opportunity Employer of Minorities/Females/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, status as protected veteran, or any other protected class.