Staff Supplier Development Engineer - Mechanical

Responsibilities

• Lead technical development and performance improvement of suppliers supporting mechanical aerospace commodities, including airframe structures, precision-machined components, landing gear, propulsion hardware, and complex assemblies.
• Assess supplier capabilities, manufacturing processes, capacity, quality systems, tooling, workforce, and production readiness.
• Conduct capability assessments, manufacturing readiness reviews, process audits, capacity analyses, and onsite technical evaluations.
• Partner with Strategic Sourcing and Engineering to evaluate and select suppliers against technical, quality, cost, schedule, and production-rate requirements.
• Serve as the technical interface between suppliers and internal Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Program teams.
• Lead supplier industrialization, manufacturing planning, tooling readiness, process validation, qualification, capacity planning, and production ramp-up.
• Review drawings, specifications, GD&T, bills of material, special-process requirements, and statements of work.
• Drive design-for-manufacturability and design-for-assembly improvements.
• Develop and manage supplier technical development, production readiness, capacity recovery, and corrective-action plans.
• Lead root-cause investigations and corrective actions for defects, nonconformances, process variation, tooling issues, material shortages, and production constraints.
• Review supplier manufacturing documentation, including process flows, manufacturing plans, inspection plans, control plans, PFMEAs, work instructions, and qualification documentation.
• Coordinate First Article Inspection activities under AS9102 and resolve FAI discrepancies and manufacturing nonconformances.
• Evaluate production capacity using cycle time, yield, equipment availability, staffing, tooling, and material flow.
• Support engineering changes, new product introductions, prototype builds, qualification activities, and production-rate increases.
• Lead supplier recovery efforts and communicate risks, progress, and corrective actions to program and executive leadership.
• Monitor supplier performance data, develop alternate sources, and implement risk-mitigation strategies.
• Support lean manufacturing, process controls, mistake-proofing, yield improvement, cycle-time reduction, and production-flow improvements.
• Ensure compliance with AS9100, AS9102, engineering, configuration-control, special-process, and customer requirements.
• Mentor Supplier Development, Supplier Quality, and Supply Chain team members.
• Travel regularly to domestic and international supplier facilities.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 7+ years of experience in supplier development, manufacturing engineering, supplier quality engineering, quality engineering, or a related technical role in aerospace, defense, or another highly regulated manufacturing environment.
• Experience developing suppliers and resolving complex manufacturing, quality, capacity, or delivery issues.
• Experience with aerospace mechanical commodities such as structural assemblies, metallic or composite structures, precision-machined components, landing gear, engines, propulsion systems, castings, forgings, and special-process components.
• Strong knowledge of CNC machining, structural fabrication, composite manufacturing, casting, forging, welding, heat treatment, plating, coating, finishing, and mechanical assembly.
• Ability to interpret engineering drawings, GD&T, bills of material, material specifications, and manufacturing requirements.
• Experience with process audits, supplier capability assessments, capacity analyses, and production readiness reviews.
• Experience with First Article Inspection and AS9102 documentation.
• Working knowledge of AS9100 quality management systems and aerospace supplier qualification requirements.
• Experience with 8D, 5-Why, fishbone analysis, and other structured root-cause and corrective-action methods.
• Knowledge of PFMEA, control plans, process capability, statistical process control, measurement systems, and inspection methods.
• Ability to lead cross-functional technical teams and supplier improvement initiatives with limited oversight.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, written, and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple supplier development projects in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance.

Nice-to-haves

• Active U.S. government SECRET security clearance at hire.
• Experience supporting aircraft, unmanned aircraft systems, advanced aerospace platforms, or defense programs.
• Supplier development experience with airframe structures, landing gear, turbine engines, propulsion systems, or other flight-critical mechanical hardware.
• Experience industrializing newly designed aerospace components and systems.
• Experience with metallic and composite airframe tooling, layup, curing, bonding, machining, drilling, trimming, assembly, and inspection.
• Experience with tight-tolerance machining, special processes, and aerospace materials.
• Knowledge of landing gear manufacturing, including forgings, machining, heat treatment, surface finishing, hydraulics, and mechanical assembly.
• Knowledge of engine and propulsion manufacturing, including castings, forgings, rotating components, engine mounts, fuel-system hardware, and high-temperature materials.
• Experience leading supplier recovery efforts for critical delivery, capacity, or quality issues.
• Experience with lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, value-stream mapping, process capability analysis, and production-flow optimization.
• Familiarity with NADCAP-controlled processes.