Principal Engineer – Design for Automation

Lockheed Martin•Stratford, CT

4d•Onsite

About The Position

Sikorsky Innovations is seeking a Principal Engineer – Design for Automation to help establish the engineering methodology that will define how the next generation of Sikorsky aircraft is designed for automated production. Working at the intersection of product design, advanced manufacturing, automation, and New Product Introduction (NPI), you will develop the engineering methods, design standards, and best practices that enable future rotorcraft to be designed for highly automated manufacturing from day one. This role focuses on influencing product design at the earliest stages of development. You will partner with engineering teams to embed Design for Automation principles into future aircraft, ensuring manufacturing capability, automation, affordability, quality, and production readiness are treated as fundamental design requirements. Leveraging experience launching new products, standing up advanced manufacturing cells, and collaborating across engineering and manufacturing organizations, you will help establish the design processes that connect product innovation with next-generation manufacturing capabilities.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
15 or more years of progressive engineering experience in product design, advanced manufacturing, manufacturing engineering, or New Product Introduction.
Demonstrated experience designing complex mechanical systems while partnering closely with manufacturing organizations.
Experience supporting New Product Introduction from concept through production launch.
Experience developing or implementing automated manufacturing cells, production systems, or advanced manufacturing processes.
Knowledge of Design for Manufacturing, Design for Assembly, and Design for Automation principles.
Experience developing engineering standards, design methodologies, or technical best practices.
Proven ability to influence cross-functional engineering teams and drive technical direction without direct authority.
Advanced degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
Experience developing clean-sheet products or next-generation platforms.
Experience designing products for highly automated manufacturing environments.
Experience integrating manufacturing requirements into product design during early development.
Knowledge of robotics, digital engineering, digital twins, Model-Based Engineering, Model-Based Systems Engineering, Industry 4.0, or intelligent manufacturing technologies.
Experience with advanced composites, lightweight structures, or complex mechanical assemblies.
Systems-thinking mindset with the ability to balance product performance, manufacturability, automation, affordability, and production scalability.
Excellent communication and collaboration skills with the ability to influence multidisciplinary engineering organizations.

Responsibilities

Develop and implement Design for Automation methodologies for next-generation rotorcraft programs.
Establish engineering standards, design guidelines, and best practices that enable highly automated manufacturing and assembly.
Partner with aircraft design teams throughout the product development lifecycle to incorporate automation, manufacturability, affordability, quality, and production readiness into product designs.
Define engineering design requirements that enable efficient, scalable, and highly automated production systems.
Apply lessons learned from New Product Introduction programs and automated manufacturing environments to influence future aircraft architectures.
Collaborate with manufacturing, industrial engineering, automation, and operations teams to translate manufacturing capabilities into engineering design standards.
Evaluate emerging manufacturing technologies and integrate their capabilities into future engineering methodologies and product development processes.
Serve as a technical leader for Design for Automation across Sikorsky's next-generation aircraft development efforts.