Solutions Manager

Ascent Aerospace • Macomb Township, MI

3d • Onsite

About The Position

Ascent Aerospace is a world-renowned, single-source provider of production and automated assembly systems for the aerospace and defense industry. We provide high-precision advanced automated equipment as well as a full suite of both mold and assembly tooling required for the aerospace manufacturing market, including the largest Invar molds ever made— making us the largest tooling group in the industry. We work with our customers to develop their project and see it through, from process engineering to build and installation, to ensure it is an efficient and cost-effective solution. As a true, single-source integrator, we have proven tools to surpass our customer expectations. We have greater control of timing and schedules, which allows for 100% accountability, and avoids costly mark-ups, ultimately saving our customers money. The result: a group of businesses, each an industry leader within their own discipline, now acting as one truly integrated supply base.

Summary of Position
The Proposals & Process Engineer leads the technical development and proposal process for aerospace tooling, automation, and production-system opportunities. Partnering with Sales and Account Management, this role translates customer requirements, drawings, and manufacturing objectives into well-defined, executable, and commercially competitive solutions.
This position coordinates Engineering, Estimating, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, and Program Management to develop the technical scope, manufacturing approach, tooling and automation concepts, assumptions, risk assessments, schedules, and proposal documentation required to support a winning offer. The Proposals & Process Engineer also improves the systems, standards, templates, review gates, and lessons-learned practices that increase proposal quality, speed, estimating accuracy, and execution readiness.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or engineering technology, or an equivalent of work history.
• Minimum of 10 years of proven application engineering or proposal development with a demonstrated competence in aerospace, tooling, and/or automated solutions.
• Demonstrated experience with customer interaction and interface
• Strong communication skills and ability to communicate technical information
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills

Responsibilities

• Working alongside the Account Manager, serve as the technical customer-facing representative, working collaboratively with the customer to develop and define the deliverables for the proposal.
• Act as an extension of the customer's manufacturing engineering team, ensuring seamless communication and understanding of customer needs.
• Constructively challenge the customer to evaluate and select the optimal assembly process solutions.
• Provide clear, detailed, and timely communication between the customer and Ascent team, ensuring alignment on project scope, deliverables, and timelines.
• Possess a comprehensive understanding of assembly processes in a manufacturing environment, ensuring efficient and effective solution development.
• Analyze product and assembly engineering drawings to identify and recommend the optimal assembly approach.
• Sequence parts and processes effectively to meet customer requirements, optimizing for efficiency, quality, and cost.
• Develop and implement a cohesive tooling methodology that ensures commonality of parts and operations across the solution.
• Identify and document tooling needs, compiling a comprehensive tool list that ensures adherence to product specifications and quality standards.
• Understand and apply tolerances, tolerance stack-ups, GD&T, and other critical design considerations in the manufacturing process.
• Develop assembly processes, including tooling and automation, from limited customer inputs, requirements, and drawings.
• Efficiently gather necessary information from customers and lead the generation of clear ground rules and assumptions where information is incomplete.
• Facilitate collaborative "whiteboard" sessions with both customer and Ascent teams to brainstorm, evaluate, and refine potential solutions to manufacturing challenges.
• Communicate abstract ideas and conceptual solutions to both internal and external stakeholders, ensuring clarity and understanding.
• Leverage internal expertise and resources to refine and enhance the conceptual designs, ensuring manufacturability and feasibility.
• Collaborate with the Ascent team to create and refine the technical offer to the customer, ensuring alignment with customer expectations and Ascent’s capabilities.
• Align customer pricing expectations with the cost of conceptual models, providing realistic and competitive pricing structures.
• Provide accurate industry-standard lead times for manufacturing tooling and processes.
• Contribute to the creation of the technical documentation required for the proposal, ensuring accuracy and completeness.
• Demonstrate creativity and innovation in developing manufacturing solutions that solve customer challenges, particularly when limited information is available.
• Continuously seek opportunities for improvement, both in processes and in the solutions provided to customers, driving efficiency, quality, and customer satisfaction.

Benefits

• Medical Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Short- and Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Life Insurance
• AD&D Insurance
• PTO
• 401k Match

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior