Consulting Engineer - Turbine Blade Mechanical Design

Solar Turbines•San Diego, CA

3d•$147,760 - $221,640•Onsite

About The Position

Solar Turbines is seeking an experienced turbine blade mechanical design engineer to support development of new engine products within the New Product Introduction (NPI) organization. The role requires balancing technical requirements with design for producibility and cost. The Consulting Engineer leads and works directly with cross-functional team members throughout the design process. The engineer develops blade design iterations with turbine aerodynamics, heat transfer, and product definition teams; establishes and corrects design direction through preliminary structural and modal analysis; and gathers producibility and cost feedback from investment casting suppliers from concept through validation. The role also works with materials and processes engineering to identify and develop materials, coatings, and technologies for harsh operating conditions. The engineer chairs peer and formal design reviews to enable tooling and hardware definition release, serves as a trusted technical resource guiding design decisions and strategies, and identifies opportunities to improve efficiency through new or modified methods and design tools. During manufacturing, the engineer supports suppliers and dispositions hardware for receipt. During product validation, the engineer monitors hardware condition in development and early production testing to confirm the design meets its intent.

Requirements

10 or more years of directly applicable mechanical design work experience.
Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a closely related engineering discipline.
Direct experience designing and analyzing internally cooled airfoil components for gas turbine engines.
Direct experience with investment-cast, single-crystal, nickel-based superalloys, thermal barrier coatings, and harsh-environment treatments.
Working knowledge of blade life prediction methods, component durability limitations, and failure mechanisms.
Expert-level application of Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing (GD&T).
Experience with CAD modeling.
Experience leading cross-functional teams and mentoring developing airfoil component designers.

Nice To Haves

15 or more years of relevant mechanical design work experience.
Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Expert-level CAD modeling using CREO or NX, including parametric design and advanced surfacing methods.
Strong demonstrated understanding of heat transfer and aerodynamics fundamentals.

Responsibilities

Lead and work with cross-functional team members throughout the design process.
Develop turbine blade design iterations in collaboration with turbine aerodynamics, heat transfer, and product definition teams.
Establish and correct design direction through preliminary structural and modal analysis.
Gather producibility and cost feedback from investment casting suppliers from concept through validation.
Work with materials and processes engineering to identify and develop materials, coatings, and technologies for harsh operating conditions.
Chair peer and formal design reviews to enable release of tooling and hardware definition.
Guide teams and the business through technical design decisions and strategies.
Identify opportunities to improve efficiency through new or modified methods and design tools.
Provide supplier support during part manufacturing and disposition hardware to allow receipt.
Monitor hardware condition during development and early production testing to validate that the design meets intent.
Mentor developing airfoil component designers.