Aerospace Principal Process Engineer

PPG Industries

21d • $110,000 - $135,000 • Onsite

About The Position

PPG's Aerospace Business is looking for an experienced Principal Process Engineer to lead the design, control, and advancement of our manufacturing processes in Sylmar, California. In this role, you will own process capability and performance across the manufacturing lifecycle. You will serve as a team lead and handle larger scope projects while partnering closely with the Operations, Quality, and Engineering teams. This is an onsite role working in our Sylmar, CA facility and reporting to the Senior Manager of Plant Operations Engineering.

Requirements

• Only U.S. Citizens, Green Card holders, and political asylees or refugees are eligible to apply.
• Bachelor's degree or higher in Engineering or a related STEM field required.
• 10+ years of experience in process and/or manufacturing engineering within a regulated environment.
• Prior leadership experience is helpful, though not required.
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt preferred.
• Familiarity with DMAIC process a plus.
• Experience with CAD and process modeling using SolidWorks or CATIA.
• Prior Aerospace experience preferred; experience with plastics, composites, coatings, or other specialty materials is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own manufacturing process capability by defining, modeling, measuring, and improving process performance using statistical and data-driven methods.
• Develop and maintain robust control plans, process specifications, and procedures for new and existing manufacturing processes to ensure stable, repeatable, and high-quality performance.
• Analyze process performance data, monitor critical inputs and outputs, establish control limits, and detect or prevent process shifts to maintain capability and consistency.
• Lead the design, development, and implementation of new tooling, jigs, fixtures, and process aids to improve capability, reduce variation, and eliminate waste.
• Identify automation opportunities and integrate into the manufacturing process through clear project definition, capex management, and oversight of external and internal suppliers to meet project deadlines.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives using DOE, FMEA, and structured problem solving to reduce variation, scrap, rework, cycle time, and cost.
• Maintain and control process documentation, flows, work instructions, and manage production process changes to ensure scalable, validated, and compliant execution.
• Provide process-based technical leadership in MRB activities and corrective action to resolve nonconformances and prevent recurrence.
• Support new product introduction by defining process requirements, analyzing readiness data, and validating scalable, capable manufacturing processes.

Benefits

• PPG offers comprehensive benefits such as Health, Dental, Life, Retirement Plan, Paid Vacation & Holidays, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Disability/Leave, and other Voluntary benefit offerings.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal