Product Engineering Specialist - NEA and Connectors

Eaton Corporation•Camarillo, CA

13h•$129,000 - $180,000

About The Position

Eaton’s IS AER ITD Aerospace Interconnect division is hiring a Product Engineering Specialist focused on NEAs and connectors. The role provides technical leadership and subject-matter expertise in the design, analysis, development, verification, qualification, and production support of Hold Down and Release Mechanisms (HDRMs), Non-Explosive Actuators (NEAs), custom electrical wiring interconnect systems, and related aerospace mechanisms and components. The specialist serves as a technical authority for HDRM/NEA products across the product lifecycle. This includes guiding mechanism architecture, engineering analysis, design margins, materials and processes, interfaces, performance, reliability, manufacturability, and verification. The role leads resolution of complex engineering problems and ensures designs are technically substantiated and capable of meeting customer, product, and program requirements. It also supports development of engineering standards and processes, technical risk assessment, failure investigations, configuration control, mentorship, and applicable ITAR/EAR hardware and technical-data classification. The position requires a bachelor's degree in a relevant engineering discipline and at least seven years of product development engineering experience, including significant mechanical design experience. Applicants must be U.S. persons under ITAR, must not require visa sponsorship now or in the future, and must currently live within 50 miles of Camarillo, California. Relocation is unavailable. The expected annual salary range is $129,000–$180,000; the posting notes that actual salary depends on skills, experience, qualifications, market, and business considerations.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, or a related engineering discipline from an ABET-accredited institution.
At least 7 years of product development engineering experience, including work with complex mechanical, electromechanical, aerospace, or similarly mission-critical products.
Significant mechanical design experience; mechanical design is required.
Demonstrated expertise in designing and developing precision mechanical or electromechanical mechanisms.
Must be a U.S. person within the meaning of ITAR: a U.S. citizen, U.S. permanent resident, political asylee, or refugee.
Must not require any form of visa sponsorship now or in the future.
Must currently reside within 50 miles of Camarillo, California; relocation is not available.

Nice To Haves

10 years of aerospace product engineering experience; a Mechanical Engineer is strongly preferred.
Direct experience designing, developing, and qualifying HDRMs, NEAs, separation/release devices, or comparable aerospace mechanisms.
Advanced knowledge of mechanism design, including load paths, preload, stiffness, friction and tribology, contact mechanics, joint design, tolerance accumulation, materials selection, fatigue/life, and manufacturing variation.
Experience developing and qualifying spaceflight, launch vehicle, missile, or other high-reliability aerospace mechanical/electromechanical hardware for severe vibration, shock, thermal, and life-cycle environments.
Experience performing or technically leading mechanism-level trade studies, structural/dynamic analysis, test-to-analysis correlation, and design-margin assessments.
Experience with reliability and risk-analysis methods such as DFMEA, fault-tree analysis, and physics-of-failure approaches.
Experience as a technical authority or subject-matter expert, including leading critical design reviews, independently assessing technical risk, resolving complex failures, establishing design practices, and mentoring engineers.
Working knowledge of applicable aerospace/space industry standards and customer qualification requirements for mechanical mechanisms and electromechanical release devices.
Expertise in Enovia PLM and SolidWorks CAD software.
Preferred certifications include Lean Six Sigma methods, including DFSS/SSDD Black Belt, Red X, or Project Management Professional (PMP).

Responsibilities

Provide technical leadership to product development teams designing, analyzing, developing, verifying, qualifying, and supporting HDRM/NEA products, custom electrical interconnect systems, and related aerospace mechanisms and components.
Serve as a technical authority for HDRM/NEA technology, advising on product architecture, mechanism design, design margins, material and process selection, mechanical interfaces, performance, reliability, manufacturability, and verification.
Lead and review engineering analyses, including structural and mechanical analysis, tolerance and interface analysis, preload and release performance, dynamic environments, shock and vibration response, fatigue and life considerations, and thermal effects as applicable.
Lead development of product verification and qualification strategies, including selection of analysis and test methods, test configuration, instrumentation, acceptance criteria, interpretation of results, and correlation of analysis with measured performance.
Lead complex engineering trade studies and technical risk assessments, balancing performance, reliability, mass, envelope, manufacturability, cost, schedule, and program risk.
Lead and participate in formal technical and design reviews; challenge assumptions, identify technical risks, and assess design maturity and technical substantiation.
Review and critique technical analyses, designs, test plans, results, reports, and presentations for engineering rigor, technical substantiation, risk mitigation, and requirements compliance.
Guide requirements development, decomposition, validation, verification, and management, including traceability among customer and product requirements, engineering analyses, and verification evidence.
Provide technical leadership and consultation to senior management, commercial teams, customers, suppliers, manufacturing, quality, program management, and other cross-functional teams.
Assess projects, including product and program cost estimates, recurring product costs, non-recurring engineering, development schedules, technical risk, design specifications, product installation and operation, and technical plans, procedures, and reports.
Lead or conduct root-cause and failure investigations involving development, qualification, customer validation, manufacturing, and field-reported issues; develop and review Failure Analysis Reports and drive substantiated corrective actions.
Serve as a divisional technical expert for Material Review Board activities, evaluating nonconforming hardware, functional and performance impact, dispositions, and customer recommendations.
Maintain disciplined product configuration and documentation, including managing product and document changes through Engineering Change Orders and Eaton’s Enovia Product Lifecycle Management system.
Develop, maintain, and improve engineering processes, analytical methods, design guidelines, design standards, and test standards based on product experience, industry practices, and lessons learned.
Lead application of Eaton Aerospace Common Engineering Standards on applicable projects and contribute to continuous improvement of engineering standards.
Capture and institutionalize lessons learned from development, qualification testing, production, investigations, and field performance.
Mentor and coach engineers and technical personnel in mechanism design, engineering judgment, analytical methods, lessons learned, and disciplined problem solving.
Support assessment of hardware and technical-data jurisdiction and classification under applicable ITAR and EAR requirements.