Lead Manufacturing Engineer - Coating Process Development

GE Vernova•Greenville, SC

25d•Onsite

About The Position

Are you passionate about innovation? Are you excited at the opportunity to electrify and decarbonize the world? We operate with a founder's mindset. We deliver innovation with passion, speed, and courage. We continuously challenge our thinking and are empowered to dream big and take smart risks. What impact you'll make As a member of the Process Industrialization team, you will be an active contributor to create, maintain, and execute the standard in how to develop and industrialize manufacturing processes using a team-based approach. This role sits within the Process Industrialization team and will execute new manufacturing process development. The focus will be on testing and developing new, or improving upon existing, manufacturing process by utilizing a standard framework. If you know how to turn a thermal spray coating into a rock-solid quality, repeatable production process, we want you. We're seeking a hands-on Thermal Spray Development & Industrialization Engineer to lead the development, qualification, industrialization, and sustainment focused on High Velocity Oxy-Fuel (HVOF) and Atmospheric Plasma Spray (APS) coating processes for gas turbine high-performance components. This role blends practical coating cell work, metallographic preparation, microstructural analysis, root-cause problem solving, and the design of fixtures/masking to enable repeatable, cost-effective production, all while operating within our SQDC (Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost) values. You will work in a multi-disciplinary, multi-group environment, aligning R&D, manufacturing, quality, and customer teams toward a common goal, requiring clear, concise communication and strong collaboration skills.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Materials Science, Metallurgical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field (advanced degree preferred).
4+ years of hands-on thermal spray process development experience (HVOF & APS).
Strong skills in coating microstructure evaluation and metallographic analysis (optical, image analysis).
Excellent written and verbal communication skills; proven track record working in multi-group environments toward shared goals.
Ability and desire to work on site in a manufacturing environment
Ability to work off-shift or flexible schedule at times as required by project timelines
This role is restricted to U.S. persons (i.e., U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and other protected individuals under the Immigration and Naturalization Act, 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)) due to access to export-controlled technology. GE will require proof of status prior to employment

Nice To Haves

Proven experience designing fixtures/masking for production coating applications (SolidWorks, NX or equivalent CAD).
Background in process documentation, control plans, FMEA, and structured problem-solving (e.g., fishbone, 5Y, 8D).
Experience with MCrAlY bondcoats, ceramic topcoats (e.g., YSZ), coatings.
Gas turbine or aerospace coatings qualification experience.
Knowledge of blasting, masking, heat treatment, and post-processing of coated parts.
Familiarity with nondestructive inspection (NDT) for coatings.
Lean/Six Sigma certification or equivalent continuous improvement experience.

Responsibilities

Drive process development in GVL site, converting a 'lab-proven' parameters into stable and documented production processes. Develop and qualify HVOF and APS coating processes. The process transfer must be performed with a focus to the 'Frozen Process' standards to the thermal spray critical parameters and at the same time understanding the process levels of freedom to optimize the process meets the print and specification requirements.
Coating process development includes a large scope of operations such as masking, grit blasting, qualify inspections, post coating final surface finish, and heat treatments for bond coat and topcoat.
Capability to operate thermal spray cells, solid understanding of thermal spray parameters and their influence on the coating process sustainability. Validate robot programs and support robotic programming. Identify potential ways to optimize the coating program to improve the cycle time or eliminate coating defects.
Thorough understanding of coating cell components and their interactions is required. The candidate should be capable of diagnosing equipment or process issues and executing corrective and preventive actions to ensure long-term process stability.
In-depth expertise in microstructure evaluation and mechanical testing (hardness and tensile strength) is essential. The candidate must be able to perform root cause analysis of coating defects (e.g., metallic and TBC ceramic coatings porosity, DVC spacing, lamellar structure, poor adhesion, oxidation, pull-outs, unmets) based on microstructural evidence, requiring a comprehensive understanding of how thermal spray process parameters affect coating microstructure.
Hands-on experience in a metallographic lab, including knowledge of the purpose and operation of standard laboratory equipment used in sample preparation and analysis. Perform optical metallography, porosity, DVC microstructural features, microhardness testing to assess coating quality.
Develop and optimize, tooling, and masking to ensure repeatability, standoff control, and overspray containment. Translate CAD concepts into tested, production-ready tooling solutions.
Responsible for process industrialization and scale-up activities based on 10-steps standard, including creation of control plans, process gap identification, detailed work instructions, and comprehensive operator training materials. Support implementation of SPC and lead NPI transfers, ensuring readiness for full-scale production and compliance with internal and external audits.
Partner with the process qualification team to determine coating process readiness by analyzing Cp and Cpk metrics. Use insights from eCAV data to identify improvement opportunities and implement changes to enhance first-pass yield (FPY). Lean Manufacturing & Process Flow.
Leverage Lean manufacturing concepts such as takt time, value stream optimization, and waste reduction to enhance operational efficiency. Work cross-functionally to implement workflows that improve throughput without compromising safety or product quality.
Collaborate across R&D, engineering, QA, operations, suppliers, and customers to ensure alignment on project goals and timelines.
Present complex data and insights in a clear, concise manner tailored to technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Benefits

Healthcare benefits include medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage; access to a Health Coach, a 24/7 nurse-based resource; and access to the Employee Assistance Program, providing 24/7 confidential assessment, counseling and referral services.
Retirement benefits include the GE Retirement Savings Plan, a tax-advantaged 401(k) savings opportunity with company matching contributions and company retirement contributions, as well as access to Fidelity resources and planning consultants.
Other benefits include tuition assistance, adoption assistance, paid parental leave, disability insurance, life insurance, and paid time-off for vacation or illness.
GE employees rise to the challenge of building a world that works. In order to meet this mission, we provide varied, competitive benefits to help support our workforce: Our Culture | GE Vernova (gecareers.com)
Our compensation & benefits are designed to help you manage your personal and family needs, while rewarding high performers. We offer a robust benefits package depending on your employment status and your national requirements.
A healthy, balanced lifestyle can mean different things to different people. We've created programs that support the way you live and work today.
GE invests to provide opportunities to grow your career by providing a path for continued on-the-job learning and development.
Available benefits include medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage; access to Health Coach from GE Vernova, a 24/7 nurse-based resource; and access to the Employee Assistance Program, providing 24/7 confidential assessment, counseling and referral services.
Retirement benefits include the GE Vernova Retirement Savings Plan, a tax-advantaged 401(k) savings opportunity with company matching contributions and company retirement contributions, as well as access to Fidelity resources and financial planning consultants.
Other benefits include tuition assistance, adoption assistance, paid parental leave, disability benefits, life insurance, 12 paid holidays, and permissive time off.