Principal Ceramic Engineer (Onsite)

RTX • Charlottesville, VA

9d • Onsite

About The Position

At RTX, the world largest aerospace and defense company, 185,000 great minds are united by purpose and inspired to make a difference solving the world’s most complex problems. With our three market leading businesses, world-class operations and investments in research and development, we offer capabilities and opportunity no one else can. Together, we push the boundaries of known science and find new ways to connect and protect our world. Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines and auxiliary power systems and has been revolutionizing modern flight for over 100 years. Join us and help shape the future of aerospace and defense. What You Will Do: Pratt & Whitney Mikro Systems manufactures ceramic cores and tooling for turbine castings. Mikro Systems uses a manufacturing process that produces intricate, advanced ceramic cores. Our innovative processes are evolving to keep pace with continually progressing turbine designs. The Mikro team is seeking a talented Ceramic Engineer who can support the design of innovative ceramic systems that challenge the current state of the art in the world of precision investment castings.

Requirements

• A Bachelor’s Degree in related or equivalent experience and minimum 8 years prior relevant experience, or an Advanced Degree in related field and 5 years prior relevant experience.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office computer software including MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
• US Citizenship required due to government contract.

Nice To Haves

• Turbine Blade / Vane knowledge.
• Knowledge of investment casting and molding tooling design.
• Ability to communicate effectively with leadership and executive team.
• Knowledge of polymeric materials: Use in ceramic forming processes (rheology, cure, processing parameters); Characterization & performance testing; Material selection (different polymeric material families, properties)
• Strong Design of Experiment Methodology and Process Variation Awareness.
• Experience working various aspects of ceramic material/processing: Materials (Raw materials & compositions), Forming Techniques (Casting, Injection molding), Firing, and Dimensional Control; Machining, Post processing, and Metal casting interactions; Rheology and Process Parameters; Characterization of raw materials, ceramic slurries, and resultant product; New Material Selection (families of materials & properties)

Responsibilities

• Innovate with novel ceramic formulations and processes to support new core product designs.
• Support ceramic core development to understand correlations between ceramic core material formulations and ceramic manufacturing techniques.
• Provide Operations support and assist with Root Cause Corrective Action (RCCA) process for issues arising from ceramic materials.
• Support and/or participate in Continuous Improvement (CI) events and CORE activities (quality improvement) of ceramic core materials.
• Develop comprehensive ceramic material qualification procedures and collaborate with the Quality Materials lab to release product for Operations.
• Collaborate with metal casting source to understand ceramic core compatibility to achieve design intent.

Benefits

• Hired applicants may be eligible for benefits, including but not limited to, medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability, 401(k) match, flexible spending accounts, flexible work schedules, employee assistance program, Employee Scholar Program, parental leave, paid time off, and holidays.
• Specific benefits are dependent upon the specific business unit as well as whether or not the position is covered by a collective-bargaining agreement.
• Hired applicants may be eligible for annual short-term and/or long-term incentive compensation programs depending on the level of the position and whether or not it is covered by a collective-bargaining agreement.
• Payments under these annual programs are not guaranteed and are dependent upon a variety of factors including, but not limited to, individual performance, business unit performance, and/or the company’s performance.

What This Job Offers

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