Senior Structural Bonding Engineer — Aerospace & Defense

Castelion Corporation; Torrance (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 155,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Benefits package

Job summary

Castelion is seeking a Senior Manufacturing Engineer with deep experience in structural bonding to develop, qualify, and scale bonded-joint manufacturing for solid rocket motors and related hypersonic hardware. You will own process definition, surface preparation, adhesive selection, cure control, inspection, and yield improvement.

You will lead DFM/DFA, PFMEA, SPC, and in-process inspection strategies, collaborating with Design, Quality, Tooling & Automation, Production, and Site Operations to

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field.
• 6–10+ years of manufacturing engineering experience in aerospace, defense, or high-reliability bonded structures.
• 3+ years of hands‑on ownership of structural bonding processes (composite bonds, metal-to-composite, elastomer-to-composite, or equivalent).
• Demonstrated success qualifying bonding processes and transitioning them from development to production.
• Strong practical knowledge of structural adhesives, primers, surface preparation, contamination control, and cure control.

Responsibilities

• Own manufacturing processes for structural bonding of SRM and related hardware, including liner/insulator-to-case bonds, composite-to-metal joints, nozzle/closure bonds, and bonded assembly interfaces.
• Develop and qualify surface-preparation, adhesive application, fixturing, cure, and inspection processes to achieve consistent bond-line quality and structural performance.
• Execute DFM/DFA, PFMEA, control plans, and statistical process control (SPC) for bonded assemblies; drive first-pass yield and cycle-time improvement.
• Define in-process inspection and NDE strategies for bond-line integrity (e.g., visual, ultrasonic, and other approved methods) and support disposition of bonding-related nonconformances.
• Design or specify bonding fixtures, dispensing methods, vacuum bagging or pressure-application approaches, and cure tooling in partnership with Tooling & Automation.
• Support new product introduction and design changes by providing producibility input on joint design, tolerances, adhesive selection, and assembly sequence.
• Lead root-cause analysis and corrective actions for disbonds, voids, porosity, contamination, incomplete cure, or related process escapes.
• Author and maintain work instructions, travelers, cure profiles, and process documentation compliant with AS9100 and customer requirements.
• Collaborate with suppliers on adhesives, primers, surface-treatment materials, and incoming quality of bond-critical components.
• Support process qualification and production ramp at Midland, TX and the Project Ranger campus in New Mexico.

Skills

Structural bonding

Process ownership

First-pass yield

Root-cause analysis

Collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Manufacturing/Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering or related field

Tools

SolidWorks/NX

Fixture concepting

NDE familiarity

Job description

Castelion is seeking a Senior Manufacturing Engineer with deep experience in structural bonding to develop, qualify, and scale bonded-joint manufacturing for solid rocket motors and related hypersonic hardware. You will own process definition, surface preparation, adhesive selection, cure control, inspection, and yield improvement.

You will lead DFM/DFA, PFMEA, SPC, and in-process inspection strategies, collaborating with Design, Quality, Tooling & Automation, Production, and Site Operations to