Senior Engineer, Solid Rocket Motor Expert

Amro Fabricating Corporation•Huntington Beach, CA

About The Position

We’re building flight qualified, filament wound composite SRM cases (cases, nozzles, exit cones) and need a hands-on manufacturing SME to take our winding, bonding, and cure processes from development to rate production. You’ll own special processes end to end in an AS9100/Nadcap environment and lead scaleup, qualification, and yield. ABOUT US Karman Space & Defense provides concept-to-production solutions for mission-critical systems on spacecraft, launch vehicles, missiles, hypersonics, and integrated defense systems. We believe that solving the industry’s most complex and mission-critical challenges requires relentless determination and a willingness to push the boundaries of possibility. Karman Space & Defense brings to bear unparalleled production capabilities, unmatched engineering expertise, and unflinching analysis to render the impossible, possible.

Requirements

10+ years manufacturing filament wound composite pressure vessels/SRM cases for flight hardware, from process development to production.
Mastery of wet winding & towpreg, winder programming, cut/park strategies, compaction, domes/hoop/helix architecture.
Deep experience with resin systems & cure (epoxy/phenolic), autoclave vs out of autoclave, exotherm control, Tg/post cure.
Proven authorship of PFMEA, control plans, SPC; successful special process audits (AS9100/Nadcap).
Handson with NDI modalities and proof/burst test campaigns; MRB leadership.
U.S. Person under ITAR; Secret clearance preferred.

Nice To Haves

AFP/ATL on thick wall structures; carbon phenolic nozzles/exit cones; metallic composite joint design; propellant casting & case prep familiarity; refurbishment/recertification

Responsibilities

Stand up a production ready filament winding cell and lead process qualification for SRM cases.
Define and control critical process parameters: fiber tension, resin content, winding angles, compaction, cure profiles, exotherm management, Tg validation, and post cure.
Own tooling/mandrels: collapsible/soluble/expandable mandrels, bladder tooling, extraction plans, polar boss/insert integration, end closure features.
Author and maintain special process documentation: PFMEA, control plans, work instructions/SOPs, operator certification, SPC dashboards.
Lead surface prep & bonding (liners/insulation/inhibitors), primers/adhesives, and environmental controls (dew point/humidity).
Direct NDT & proof/burst testing (UT, radiography; hydro/pneumatic) and chair MRB for composite defects.
Build material allowables & equivalency (coupon/element matrix, Bbasis per CMH17) and manage supplier/lot acceptance.
Drive rate readiness: capacity modeling, takt, OEE baseline, staffing, and capex business cases (winders, autoclaves, cutting/kitting).