Astro Mechanica
Senior Build Engineer, Airframe Composites Manufacturing
San Francisco. Posted 2 months ago
The role
This person will help stand up airframe manufacturing operations from scratch. They will translate designs into manufacturing plans and support layup, bonding, curing, and assembly activities.
What you will do
- Help stand up airframe manufacturing operation including facilities, workflows, tooling, equipment and consumables
- Translate designs, analyses, and requirements into executable manufacturing plans
- Support and coordinate layup, bonding, curing, trimming, assembly, and rework activities
- Establish and continuously improve manufacturing processes, build sequences, tooling approaches, and process documentation
- Maintain presence on production floor to drive builds and resolve issues
- Collaborate cross-functionally with Design, Tooling, Quality, and Production teams
- Create manufacturing instructions and support development of internal processes specifications
- Design tools and fixtures directly or via collaboration with internal tool design team or contractors
- Be responsible for quality inspection of the products produced
- Collaborate with suppliers to develop processes and procure composite parts and materials
Required qualifications
- 7+ years of experience in high variability composite manufacturing, including prototyping and airframe fabrication
- Experience working with composite materials and processes (prepreg layup, wet layup, bonding, curing, trimming, repair, drilling and fastening)
- Experience developing manufacturing processes for complex composite layups and/or aerostructure assemblies from the ground up
- Experience working with metallic airframe components and composite-to-metal interfaces
- Experience building or scaling manufacturing operations, labs, or shops in a development or flight hardware environment
- Experience mentoring and partnering with technicians
- Experience working directly from engineering drawings, ply books, CAD models, and evolving build definitions
- Strong project management skills
- Proficiency in at least one industry standard CAD system
- Demonstrated experience designing and developing composite tools and/or assembly fixtures
- Strong understanding of GD&T
- Experience providing DFM feedback
Nice to have
- NX
- Experience with PLM and/or MES systems
- Experience working with laser projection systems to aid composite manufacturing and assembly processes
- Experience with CNC ply cutting tools and ply pattern generation in CAD
- Experience with AFP/ATL manufacturing systems
- Experience with CAM systems from both a programming and operating perspective
- Experience with mechanical design, assembly of mechanical systems
- Experience with aircraft or spacecraft integration
- Experience with metrology tools (CMM, Laser tracker)
- Experience manufacturing large structures
Benefits
- Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance
- Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
- 401(k) program
- Transparent stock option plan
- Self-managed and flexible time-off policy, including PTO, paid holidays, and sick time
About the company
Astro Mechanica is a vertically integrated aerospace company developing a scalable technology platform to power critical infrastructure, mission operations, and the future of flight. They are a team of engineers with a flat structure.