Senior Supplier Development Engineer - Propulsion & Landing Gear

Precision Labs; Seattle (WA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Shield AI seeks a Staff Supplier Development Engineer specializing in propulsion and landing gear. You will lead suppliers for airframe structures, precision-machined components, landing gear, and propulsion hardware, ensuring technical and manufacturing readiness from prototype through production ramp-up.

You will assess supplier capabilities, conduct readiness reviews, and collaborate with Engineering, Quality, and Program teams to meet schedule, cost, and performance targets.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Aerospace, Industrial, or related field.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance.
• 7+ years in supplier development, manufacturing engineering, supplier quality engineering, or related aerospace roles.
• Experience developing suppliers and resolving complex manufacturing, quality, capacity, or delivery issues.
• Experience with CNC machining, structural fabrication, composite manufacturing, casting, forging, welding, heat treatment, plating, finishing, and assembly.

Responsibilities

• Lead the technical development and performance improvement of suppliers for airframe structures, precision-machined components, landing gear, and propulsion hardware.
• Assess supplier capabilities, processes, capacity, quality systems, tooling, and production readiness for development to production programs.
• Conduct supplier capability assessments, manufacturing readiness reviews, process audits, and onsite evaluations.
• Partner with Strategic Sourcing and Engineering to select suppliers meeting technical, quality, cost, schedule, and ramp-up requirements.
• Serve as the primary technical interface between suppliers and internal Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Program teams.
• Lead supplier industrialization activities including planning, tooling readiness, validation, capacity planning, qualification, and ramp-up.
• Review drawings, GD&T, BOMs, special-process requirements, and SOWs to ensure comprehension of requirements by suppliers.
• Drive design-for-manufacturability and design-for-assembly discussions to improve producibility and reduce cost.
• Develop and manage supplier development plans, production readiness plans, capacity recovery plans, and corrective action plans.
• Lead onsite supplier recovery and communicate progress, risks, and actions to leadership.
• Monitor supplier performance trends and identify systemic risks and improvement opportunities.
• Support alternate sources and risk mitigation for sole-source and long-lead components.
• Implement lean manufacturing, process controls, mistake-proofing, and production-flow improvements.

Skills

Analytical skills

Problem solving

Communication skills

Leadership

Travel willingness

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Aerospace, or related engineering

Tools

AS9100

AS9102

GD&T

First Article Inspection (FAI)

PFMEA

Control plans

Job description

Shield AI seeks a Staff Supplier Development Engineer specializing in propulsion and landing gear. You will lead suppliers for airframe structures, precision-machined components, landing gear, and propulsion hardware, ensuring technical and manufacturing readiness from prototype through production ramp-up.

You will assess supplier capabilities, conduct readiness reviews, and collaborate with Engineering, Quality, and Program teams to meet schedule, cost, and performance targets.