Spirit Defense - Associate Research NDI Engineer

Spirit AeroSystems•Wichita, KS

About The Position

This role is at Spirit AeroSystems, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Company, at Spirit’s Defense Business Unit (“Spirit Defense”). Spirit Defense is an independent supplier to the defense and space marketplace. Through innovative engineering and rapid prototyping excellence, Spirit Defense provides the capabilities, technologies and support customers need to succeed in their missions. We are seeking a Non-Destructive Inspection Engineer to support commercial and defense research, development, and production applications. In this role, you will work with engineering, manufacturing, quality, and program teams to develop and implement advanced NDI solutions for aerospace structures and components. The ideal candidate will possess broad technical knowledge of NDI methods, with specific expertise in NDI application and theory, and experience applying automation and/or robotics to enable inspection processes.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from an ABET accredited program in Engineering
2+ years of experience applying Non-Destructive Inspection (NDI/NDT) principles, methods, and technologies in an engineering, manufacturing, research, or production environment.
Broad technical knowledge of NDI application and theory, including an understanding of inspection physics, capabilities, limitations, defect detection, and data interpretation.
Experience with one or more NDI methods such as ultrasonic, eddy current, radiographic, penetrant, magnetic particle, thermography, or other advanced inspection technologies.
Experience with automation and/or robotics used to enable NDI inspection, including automated inspection equipment, multi-axis systems, robotic systems, motion control, or integrated inspection platforms.
Experience with engineering problem solving, system integration, testing, troubleshooting, and technical documentation.
Ability to interpret engineering drawings, specifications, technical requirements, and manufacturing processes.
Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to work effectively across engineering, manufacturing, quality, and technical organizations.
Experience utilizing various Microsoft Office Suite applications, such as Office 365 and Microsoft Project, Power Point, Excel, Word, Teams and Visio
Ability to obtain a US Security Clearance

Nice To Haves

Experience developing or integrating automated or robotic NDI systems for aerospace manufacturing applications.
Experience with automated ultrasonic scanning systems, phased-array ultrasonics, eddy current, or other advanced NDI technologies.
Experience with robotic programming, industrial automation, motion-control systems, machine vision, sensors, or automated data-acquisition systems.
Experience with Catia V5
Experience developing NDI techniques, procedures, inspection plans, or engineering requirements.
Knowledge of NAS 410 and applicable aerospace NDI standards and specifications.
NDI Level II or Level III certification, or previous certification, in one or more NDI methods.
Experience inspecting or developing inspection processes for aerospace metallic and/or composite structures.
Experience transitioning new inspection technologies from research and development into a manufacturing or production environment.
Experience with statistical analysis, inspection data analysis, or software used for NDI data acquisition and evaluation.

Responsibilities

Apply broad technical knowledge of Non-Destructive Inspection (NDI) methods, applications, and underlying theory to aerospace materials, components, and structures.
Develop, evaluate, and implement NDI techniques and inspection solutions for composite, metallic, and other aerospace materials.
Apply knowledge of NDI methods including ultrasonic testing (UT), eddy current testing (ET), radiographic testing (RT), penetrant testing (PT), magnetic particle testing (MT), and other advanced inspection technologies, as applicable.
Develop and integrate automated and/or robotic NDI inspection solutions, including multi-axis inspection systems, motion control, sensors, tooling, and data-acquisition systems.
Support the programming, integration, testing, commissioning, and troubleshooting of automated NDI equipment and robotic inspection systems.
Analyze inspection requirements and determine appropriate NDI methods, equipment, techniques, and automation approaches.
Develop and document engineering requirements, inspection concepts, processes, test plans, and technical solutions for NDI applications.
Evaluate inspection data and support the development of methods for data acquisition, processing, analysis, and interpretation.
Conduct research and trade studies involving emerging NDI technologies, automation, robotics, sensors, inspection methods, and process improvements.
Collaborate with Design Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, NDI personnel, suppliers, and other technical organizations to transition NDI technologies from development into production.
Support equipment qualification, calibration, verification, and validation activities to ensure inspection systems meet engineering, customer, and regulatory requirements.
Review engineering drawings, specifications, material requirements, and manufacturing processes to determine NDI requirements and inspection approaches.
Support root-cause investigations and corrective actions involving inspection processes, equipment, materials, and manufacturing conditions.
Ensure NDI engineering solutions comply with applicable company procedures, customer requirements, industry standards, and governmental regulations.