# Staff Supplier Development Engineer - Mechanical

**Company:** [Shield AI](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/shield-ai)
**Location:** Seattle, WA
**Role:** Hardware Engineering
**Salary:** $170k – $260k/yr
**Experience:** 7+ years
**Skills:** Supplier Development, Manufacturing Engineering, Cnc Machining, Composite Manufacturing, GD&T, As9100, As9102, First Article Inspection, 8D, Pfmea, Statistical Process Control, Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Nadcap, Capacity Analysis
**Posted:** 2026-09-03

> Leads technical development, industrialization, and recovery efforts for aerospace mechanical suppliers, ensuring manufacturing readiness, quality, capacity, and production performance. Requires a bachelor's degree, 7+ years of regulated-manufacturing experience, strong aerospace process knowledge, and the ability to obtain a U.S. security clearance.

## Job Description

## 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.

## Similar jobs

- [Hardware Engineer, Test](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/f6c0796c-91e3-4df5-a403-f5010c4a9e16) - OpenAI - San Francisco, CA - $177k – $300k/yr
- [Senior Staff Engineer, PCB Design](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/50803607-ea98-4721-a352-7c732f72ed55) - Shield AI - Seattle, WA - $180k – $270k/yr
- [Staff Application Engineer](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/e7972f38-854f-4aa7-87a3-23681da63553) - Carbon - Sunnyvale, CA - $182k – $274k/yr
- [Staff Mechatronics Engineer](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/1466c5a2-449d-43c2-836c-9471b956447c) - Dandy - Remote - $184k – $223k/yr
- [Senior Staff Engineer, Advanced Manufacturing](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/9707ecb9-210c-4f40-a8a8-8ae3a28de811) - Shield AI - Seattle, WA - $188k – $282k/yr

**Apply:** https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/15e8ae66-3762-44c7-89a8-60453a3f3ce2
**Canonical:** https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/15e8ae66-3762-44c7-89a8-60453a3f3ce2