Sr Manufacturing Process Engineer (UAV/USV)
About The Position
Ideal Aerosmith is seeking a Senior Manufacturing Process Engineer to lead the development, optimization, and scaling of system-level integration and production processes supporting their Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) programs. This role partners closely with Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, and Program Management to ensure manufacturing execution is disciplined, repeatable, scalable, and production-ready. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in aerospace or complex electromechanical manufacturing environments, including system integration, production flow design, rate-readiness planning, and manufacturing documentation control. This position plays a critical role in transitioning advanced platforms from prototype builds to rate-capable production. The Senior Manufacturing Process Engineer will establish standardized work instructions, MBOM structures, integration sequencing strategies, and production control frameworks designed to sustain long-term program growth within configuration-controlled environments.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Manufacturing, or related Engineering discipline
- 7–12+ years of experience in aerospace or complex electromechanical manufacturing environments
- Demonstrated experience establishing or significantly expanding manufacturing capability in a new or growing production environment
- Demonstrated experience scaling products from prototype to production
- Proven experience designing and implementing manufacturing processes
- Experience leading RCCA investigations and systemic production improvements
- Experience working in regulated or defense manufacturing environments
- Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a DoD Secret security clearance.
- Must be a U.S. Citizen.
- Strong systems-level thinking and manufacturing process design capability
- Advanced troubleshooting and analytical problem-solving skills
- Ability to lead technical initiatives without formal authority
- Strong written documentation discipline
- Ability to operate effectively in fast-scaling production environments
Nice To Haves
- Experience leading or mentoring junior manufacturing engineers
- Experience establishing manufacturing standards across multiple programs
- Familiarity with ERP, PLM, and configuration-controlled build environments
- Experience supporting defense or government system production
Responsibilities
- Lead manufacturing system development for new UAV production facility stand-up, including integration cell design, documentation frameworks, and process governance structures
- Design and implement scalable system-level integration processes
- Develop standardized production frameworks across programs and product lines
- Establish manufacturing flow, line layout, and integration sequencing strategies
- Define tooling, fixtures, and process control requirements
- Lead MBOM development and manufacturing structure definition
- Define production infrastructure requirements including tooling strategy, workspace layout, integration cell architecture, and material flow systems
- Lead transition from prototype builds to low-rate and full-rate production
- Conduct production readiness reviews and rate capability assessments
- Identify systemic bottlenecks and implement structural improvements
- Develop capacity planning inputs in coordination with Production Leadership
- Drive measurable improvements in yield, throughput, and repeatability
- Define and implement integration process controls and verification checkpoints to ensure end-item quality, configuration integrity, and first-pass yield performance at production rate
- Establish production-to-test handoff criteria and ensure manufacturing processes support ground test, acceptance testing, and flight readiness requirements
- Establish standardized manufacturing change control processes aligned with engineering configuration management
- Define and monitor key manufacturing performance metrics including first-pass yield, integration defect rate, rework hours, and rate capability
- Serve as escalation point for complex integration and assembly issues
- Lead root cause and corrective action (RCCA) efforts
- Mentor Manufacturing Team Leads and Production Technicians
- Establish best practices for integration quality and process discipline
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives across production lines
- Ensure alignment between engineering configuration and manufacturing execution
- Lead First Article Inspection (FAI) manufacturing support
- Ensure documentation integrity, traceability, and audit readiness
- Support ISO-9001 and contractual production compliance requirements
- Establish standardized manufacturing documentation controls
- Provide senior-level Design for Manufacturability (DFM) input to Engineering
- Coordinate with Supply Chain on integration constraints and production risk
- Support Program Management with production risk identification and mitigation
- Participate in IPT leadership discussions related to production execution
- Support strategic make/buy and integration planning decisions
Benefits
- health
- dental
- vision
- voluntary benefits
- 401K with company match
- company-paid holidays
- every other Friday off
- paid time off for vacation and personal time
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
