Manufacturing Engineering Discipline Chief

Pratt & Whitney; Asheville (NC); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Pratt & Whitney, a leader in aerospace propulsion, seeks an experienced Manufacturing Engineering Discipline Chief to lead a key process family and advance MRL elements across PW shops. You will drive PFMEA, Control Plans, Gage R&R and optimize processes to improve quality and cost.

With expertise in nickel alloy investment casting and cross‑functional leadership, you will guide design for variation, coach teams, and support regulatory/compliance reviews within RTX’s PW Advanced Casting Group.

Qualifications

• University degree or equivalent with extensive relevant experience.
• Experience with nickel alloy investment casting and complex manufacturing.
• Strong analytical and statistical skills, able to lead cross-functional projects.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership for PW manufacturing engineering discipline and MRL advancement.
• Drive PFMEA, Control Plan, and Gage R&R with three PW internal shops.
• Lead process improvement actions to reduce defects and costs.
• Evaluate engineering changes and support DFSS/DFV methods across ops.
• Represent manufacturing in audits and cross-functional reviews.
• Communicate lessons learned to enable broad implementation.

Skills

Nickel alloy casting

Cross-functional leadership

Problem solving

Data analysis

DOE / multivariate stats

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Advanced degree in related field

Tools

MS Office

Minitab

Job description

At RTX, the world's largest aerospace and defense company, 185,000 great minds are united by purpose and inspired to make a difference solving the world’s most complex problems. With our three market leading businesses, world‑class operations and investments in research and development, we offer capabilities and opportunity no one else can. Together, we push the boundaries of known science and find new ways to connect and protect our world.

Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines and auxiliary power systems and has been revolutionizing modern flight for over 100 years. Join us and help shape the future of aerospace and defense.

We are seeking an experienced, proactive, and goal oriented professional to provide technical leadership to the Manufacturing Engineering discipline at P&W, perform product definition producibility assessments, and evaluate capability in order to help ensure that safety, quality, delivery, and cost requirements are met. Execution of Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) and Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) elements to drive process control will dramatically improve the company’s quality and delivery signature.

What You Will Do

• The Manufacturing Engineering Discipline Chief will be responsible for a specific process and product family MRL advancement through the execution of MRL elements such as PFMEA, Control Plan & Gage R&R. The scope of this role will include three connected PW internal shops. This position will report to the Operational Excellence (OpX) Director for the P&W Advanced Casting Group.
• Provide focused & effective leadership in the advancement of manufacturing process activities to drive manufacturing risk identification and mitigation to achieve superior quality performance.
• Responsible for investment casting discipline health (core production through airfoil casting delivery).
• Lead manufacturing engineering discipline in the assessment of discipline health, identification of discipline gap and develop and execute mitigation actions to address these gaps.
• Lead manufacturing engineering reviews and follow‑up actions to drive MRL improvement of module center processes and parts.
• Evaluate engineering changes and be the voice of Operations in technical reviews that establishes the MRL advancement plan and certification.
• Identify & implement process optimization & control methods to eliminate/prevent quality turn backs /escapes and reduce overall product costs.
• As a key member of the manufacturing engineering organization, significant interaction with shop floor personnel, other manufacturing engineers, quality engineers, product designers, tool designers, systems designers, Manufacturing Engineering Fellows / Subject Matter Experts, and other stakeholders is required.
• Represent the organization in various forums related to MRL execution. Develop standard work, procedures, and integrate industry‑standard best practices.
• Represent manufacturing discipline in quality & regulatory audits and address follow‑up items.
• Communicate lessons learned to Process development/engineering to enable implementation of design for variation (DFV) and robust design methods (DFSS) and other operational organizations for read‑across implementation.

Qualifications You Must Have

• A University Degree or equivalent experience and minimum 8 years prior relevant experience, or An Advanced Degree in a related field and minimum 5 years experience.
• Demonstrated ability in advanced nickel alloy investment castings.
• Demonstrated technical proficiency in complex manufacturing activities.
• Demonstrated proficiency leading and managing a portfolio of cross‑functional projects.
• Effective team player with strong good interpersonal skills capable of influencing and getting cooperation and action from others.
• Ability to effectively communicate (verbal and written), work and relate with people at all levels of the organization and be self‑sufficient.
• Ability to influence cross‑functional teams.
• Ability to encourage and motivate others to be successful.
• Six Sigma project leadership / management / coaching experience preferred.
• Excellent knowledge of MS office computer software including MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Able to use Minitab and other statistical software.
• Good analytical and problem‑solving skills.
• Proficiency in statistics, data analytics, DOE, and multivariate statistics.
• U.S. Citizenship is required due to government contracts.

Qualifications We Prefer

• ACE/CORE/ 6 Sigma Practitioner/Professional certification.
• Strong understanding of other continuous improvement skills: DFSS, Red‑X, Lean, etc.
• Education: Bachelor of Science in Engineering.
• 6 sigma Black Belt preferred.
• 10+ years of relevant experience (Manufacturing Engineering, Ops, Engr, Quality).
• Advanced degree is a plus.

What We Offer

• Medical, dental, vision and life insurance.
• Short‑term disability, long‑term disability and parental leave.
• 401(k) match.
• Flexible spending accounts.
• Employee assistance program.
• Employee Scholar Program No waiting period!
• Paid time off including: 3 weeks of vacation, 5 personal sick days, 3 unpaid days for unique situations at supervisor discretion, and 12 paid government holidays.

RTX is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or veteran status, or any other applicable state or federal protected class. RTX provides affirmative action in employment for qualified Individuals with a Disability and Protected Veterans in compliance with Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act.