Senior Concentrator Build Engineer
About The Position
The Senior Concentrator Build Engineer owns the concentrator from composite supplier through deployment. The role works directly with composite vendors on their processes and process controls, including travel to vendor facilities, and provides composite subject matter expertise to Portal’s supplier quality engineering team during formal supplier quality activities. In-house, the engineer leads final assembly of concentrator blades, integration into the full concentrator, and deployment of the assembly. The role collaborates with design engineering on design for manufacturability, configuration trades, and qualification, and develops the business case for potential future in-house composite capability. The engineer supports concentrator design and development, assesses vendor capabilities, and provides supplier-informed manufacturing input. They serve as the technical lead with composite vendors, establish process controls and acceptance criteria, lead technical root-cause work on supplier defects, and support delivery planning. They own concentrator assembly and related process development, inspections, documentation, tooling, and handling methods, and develop deployment tooling. The role also resolves quality issues and plans and executes development, qualification, and acceptance testing.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical discipline, or 6 years of relevant experience.
- 4 or more years of experience with composite hardware in aerospace, spacecraft, high-reliability hardware, advanced manufacturing, or a similar hardware development environment.
- Working knowledge of composite fabrication processes, including layup, cure, and bonding, and the process parameters that drive part quality.
- Experience designing tooling from concept through 3D modeling, fabrication, and implementation.
- Experience developing and executing manufacturing processes, work instructions, assembly procedures, and build documentation.
- Experience working directly with hardware suppliers on technical requirements, process issues, and defect resolution.
- Experience authoring, reading, and interpreting engineering drawings, GD&T, schematics, BOMs, and technical specifications.
- Significant composites fabrication expertise and experience in spacecraft assembly or large deployable structures.
- Understanding of GD&T and tolerance stack-up analysis, and ability to create engineering drawings for tooling.
- Experience with spacecraft and technical requirements unique to space products, such as cleanliness standards, ESD requirements, and material compatibility in extreme environments.
- Clear and effective written and verbal communication.
- Ability to work well with other teams and groups, providing support and feedback.
- Ability to prioritize and organize workload to meet company goals and objectives.
Nice To Haves
- Hands-on experience with multiple composites, including fabrication, qualification, NDT, and process control.
- 7 or more years in spacecraft manufacturing, testing, and design.
- Direct experience taking a composite product from initial brainstorming through development, qualification, and manufacturing.
- Experience with deployable spacecraft structures or mechanisms, including deployment testing and gravity offload.
- Experience standing up a new manufacturing capability or building a make/buy business case.
Responsibilities
- Support concentrator hardware design and development, including configuration trades, early development testing of materials and process techniques, and vendor capability analysis.
- Provide design-for-manufacturability input reflecting supplier capability and process control.
- Build make/buy analyses weighing cost, schedule, and technical risk, including potential future savings through in-house composite capability.
- Serve as technical lead with composite vendors and understand their materials, layup, cure, and bonding processes to identify parameters that drive part quality.
- Work with vendors to establish in-process controls, including process parameter monitoring, witness coupons, and process capability data.
- Define acceptance criteria and inspection plans appropriate to process risk, and reduce inspection as process control is demonstrated.
- Lead technical root-cause investigations of supplier defects and partner with supplier quality engineering on corrective action, audits, and supplier approval.
- Support vendor schedule and delivery planning and identify technical delivery risks early.
- Own concentrator assembly, including process development, critical features and inspections, documentation, assembly tooling, and handling methods.
- Develop deployment tooling, including drawings, tolerance analysis, alignment precision, and control logic.
- Perform quality control and issue resolution for concentrator assemblies and components.
- Plan and execute development, qualification, and acceptance testing of the concentrator.
Benefits
- Company equity as a potential long-term incentive.
- Potential bonuses.
- Comprehensive medical coverage with premiums paid by Portal 100%.
- Vision coverage with premiums paid by Portal 100%.
- Dental coverage with premiums paid by Portal 100%.
- Access to a 401(k) retirement plan.
- Paid parental leave.
- Accrual of 3 weeks of paid vacation.
- 12 or more paid holidays per year.
- Sick time.
Stand Out From the Crowd
Upload your resume and get instant feedback on how well it matches this job.
What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
