Manufacturing Engineer

GKN•Garden Grove, CA

6h•Onsite

About The Position

As a Manufacturing Engineer, you will support both production and development programs by ensuring manufacturing execution through strong process design, practical problem solving, and continuous improvement. This role involves applying competent working knowledge of composite materials and processes while implementing advanced manufacturing methods across material handling, tooling, fabrication, and assembly.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Materials Science, or a related field.
3+ years of experience in aerospace composite manufacturing, including fabrication, tooling, or autoclave/oven-cure processes.
Working knowledge of composite materials and production methods such as layup, bonding, and cure.
Must be a U.S. Person per ITAR regulations to comply with export compliance requirements, with ability to obtain a Department of Defense security clearance if needed.

Nice To Haves

Proficiency with PFMEA, control plans, SPC, or other process‑control tools.
Experience with NDI/NDT techniques (ultrasonic, X‑ray, tap test).
Familiarity with composite machining, trimming, secondary bonding, or assembly.
Leadership or mentoring experience in a manufacturing environment.
Lean, Six Sigma, or related continuous‑improvement training.

Responsibilities

Develop, validate, and sustain manufacturing processes for prepreg layup, autoclave cure, bonding, NDI and NDT, machining, and assembly of composite components.
Create manufacturing plans, ply books, process specifications, and tooling requirements for complex composite structures.
Lead root cause and corrective action activities using structured problem solving methods.
Evaluate and introduce new composite materials, tooling concepts, and cure technologies to improve capability, quality, and cost.
Collaborate with design engineering on design for manufacturing, materials selection, laminate definition, and configuration control.
Support proposals by preparing labor estimates, tooling strategies, and plans for process development.
Drive continuous improvement projects that reduce scrap, rework, cycle time, and process variability.