Senior Manufacturing Engineer, Structural Bonding

Castelion Corporation•Rio Rancho, NM

About The Position

Castelion is seeking a Senior Manufacturing Engineer with deep experience in structural bonding to develop, qualify, and scale bonded-joint manufacturing for Castelion’s solid rocket motors and related hypersonic hardware. This role focuses on liner-to-case bonds, insulator and composite interfaces, nozzle and closure bonds, metal-to-composite joints, and other structural adhesive applications used in motor assembly. You will own process definition, surface preparation, adhesive selection and application, cure control, inspection, and yield improvement while partnering with Design, Quality, Tooling & Automation, Production, and Site Operations. The objective is repeatable, high-reliability bonded structures that meet aerospace requirements from development builds through high-rate production.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field.
6–10+ years of manufacturing engineering experience in aerospace, defense, or high-reliability bonded structures.
3+ years of hands-on ownership of structural bonding processes (composite bonds, metal-to-composite, elastomer-to-composite, or equivalent).
Demonstrated success qualifying bonding processes and transitioning them from development to production.
Strong practical knowledge of structural adhesives, primers, surface preparation (mechanical, chemical, and plasma or equivalent approved methods), contamination control, and cure control.
Experience with bond-line design considerations, fillet control, bond-line thickness, and void/porosity prevention in production settings.
Proficiency in CAD (SolidWorks or NX), GD&T, fixture concepting, and manufacturing documentation.
Working knowledge of PFMEA, SPC, root-cause methods (8D, fishbone), and process qualification.
Familiarity with NDE of bonded joints and metrology used to verify bonded assemblies.
Understanding of clean/controlled-area practices and handling requirements for bond-critical hardware.
Detail-oriented, process-disciplined, and effective at enforcing contamination-control and procedure compliance.
Strong collaboration with Design, Quality, Tooling, and production teams.
Clear technical communication and documentation skills.
Hands-on problem solver comfortable on the shop floor.
Safety-first mindset when working in facilities that handle energetic materials.

Nice To Haves

Direct experience bonding solid rocket motor cases, liners, insulators, nozzles, or missile composite structures.
Background in fast-paced defense or space manufacturing environments.
Experience with elastomer-to-composite or rubber-to-metal structural bonds.
Prior work supporting automation of adhesive dispense, surface prep, or cure processes.
Familiarity with AS9100, ITAR programs, and manufacturing in energetic-materials facilities.
Track record reducing bond-related scrap, rework, or cycle time on flight hardware.

Responsibilities

Own manufacturing processes for structural bonding of SRM and related hardware, including liner/insulator-to-case bonds, composite-to-metal joints, nozzle/closure bonds, and bonded assembly interfaces.
Develop and qualify surface-preparation, adhesive application, fixturing, cure, and inspection processes to achieve consistent bond-line quality and structural performance.
Execute DFM/DFA, PFMEA, control plans, and statistical process control (SPC) for bonded assemblies; drive first-pass yield and cycle-time improvement.
Define in-process inspection and NDE strategies for bond-line integrity (e.g., visual, ultrasonic, and other approved methods) and support disposition of bonding-related nonconformances.
Design or specify bonding fixtures, dispensing methods, vacuum bagging or pressure-application approaches, and cure tooling in partnership with Tooling & Automation.
Support new product introduction and design changes by providing producibility input on joint design, tolerances, adhesive selection, and assembly sequence.
Lead root-cause analysis and corrective actions for disbonds, voids, porosity, contamination, incomplete cure, or related process escapes.
Author and maintain work instructions, travelers, cure profiles, and process documentation compliant with AS9100 and customer requirements.
Collaborate with suppliers on adhesives, primers, surface-treatment materials, and incoming quality of bond-critical components.
Support process qualification and production ramp at Midland, TX and the Project Ranger campus in New Mexico.