Senior Manufacturing Engineer

Job Title: Manufacturing Engineer Aerospace Job Description
This role serves as the primary technical focal point for assigned aerospace manufacturing projects, ensuring that products and processes meet customer and internal requirements while driving manufacturability, quality, cost effectiveness, and continuous improvement. The Manufacturing Engineer develops and validates manufacturing processes, leads new product introduction activities, creates clear work instructions, and collaborates closely with production, quality, planning, and supplier teams to support efficient, compliant, and on-time delivery.
Responsibilities
- Act as the focal point for all technical aspects of assigned projects, ensuring compliance with customer and product procurement specifications.
- Validate that manufacturing processes meet all customer and internal requirements and initiate actions to improve manufacturability.
- Drive product manufacturability by reviewing designs, processes, and tooling and recommending practical improvements.
- Review and approve planning document releases to ensure technical accuracy and alignment with manufacturing capabilities.
- Lead and support Advanced Quality Planning (AQP) activities for assigned programs.
- Direct, coordinate, and summarize tooling requirements to support efficient manufacturing and assembly processes.
- Create clear, visual work instructions (Visual Work Instructions) for detail parts, sub-assemblies, and top-level assemblies.
- Develop and maintain concise and accurate work instructions for detail parts, sub-assemblies, and final assemblies.
- Apply operation time standards and develop Work Combination Sheets (WCS) as required to support planning and production.
- Ensure the manufacturability of detail parts, sub-assemblies, and top assemblies for assigned projects and programs.
- Provide technical guidance and act as a liaison between internal manufacturing operations and customer engineering teams.
- Work with suppliers to develop their processes, resolve technical issues, and improve incoming product quality.
- Lead the initial manufacturing cycles for new detail parts, sub-assemblies, and assemblies as part of New Product Introduction (NPI).
- Understand and adhere to delivery schedules, and when needed, collaborate with internal stakeholders to adjust schedules to support tooling and process validation.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of manufacturing processes and implement improvements to enhance quality, throughput, and consistency.
- Identify, implement, and drive cost reduction ideas and participate in or lead multi-disciplinary cost reduction initiatives.
- Provide primary technical support to production or lead/partner with Production Support Teams to resolve manufacturing issues.
- Perform Root Cause and Corrective/Preventive Action (RCCA) activities to eliminate root causes of nonconforming products.
- Perform, document, and validate component, assembly, and system-level processes such as machining, forming, stamping, heat treating, and chemical processing.
- Develop and validate processes for working with materials including titanium, Inconel, aluminum, stainless steel, and O1 and D2 tooling steels.
- Ensure that all engineering changes are properly documented, communicated, and implemented in the manufacturing environment.
- Coordinate and drive the design of tooling required for manufacturing and assembly processes, ensuring suitability and efficiency.
- Develop robust, repeatable manufacturing processes based on the organizations capabilities and equipment.
- Check production drawings for technical content, manufacturability, and alignment with process capabilities.
- Make recommendations and propose credible solutions related to product design, tooling concepts, and manufacturing processes.
- Provide accurate technical input and data to support the quoting and estimating process.
- Follow all organizational policies and procedures related to safety, quality, and operations.
- Coach and support other Manufacturing Engineers on process improvement projects and RCCA initiatives, promoting knowledge sharing and best practices.
- Contribute to a cohesive, collaborative engineering team environment and engage with other teams as needed to support program success.
Essential Skills
- Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering or another engineering discipline with 3+ years of engineering experience, preferably in an aerospace environment, or a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering or another engineering discipline with 2+ years of engineering experience in an aerospace environment.
- Professional experience in manufacturing engineering with a focus on aerospace manufacturing processes.
- Strong knowledge of sheet metal and aerospace materials.
- Strong knowledge of sheet metal related processes, including welding, forming, and non-destructive testing (NDT).
- Understanding of geometric tolerancing and its application to aerospace components and assemblies.
- Hands-on experience developing, validating, and improving manufacturing processes such as machining, forming, stamping, heat treating, and chemical processing.
- Ability to work effectively with materials such as titanium, Inconel, aluminum, stainless steel, and O1 and D2 tooling steels.
- Experience creating and maintaining clear, visual work instructions for manufacturing and assembly.
- Ability to apply operation time standards and develop Work Combination Sheets (WCS).
- Demonstrated experience in process improvement and continuous improvement within a manufacturing environment.
- Strong problem-solving skills, including Root Cause and Corrective/Preventive Action (RCCA) methodologies.
- Capability to lead or provide primary technical support to production teams to resolve manufacturing issues.
- Ability to read, interpret, and check engineering drawings for technical content and manufacturability.
- Strong communication skills to interface with internal teams, suppliers, and customer engineering.
- Organizational skills to manage multiple projects, adhere to schedules, and support New Product Introduction (NPI) activities.
Additional Skills & Qualifications
- Experience in an aerospace manufacturing environment, including exposure to both legacy programs and new product introductions.
- Background in project management, including coordinating with cross-functional teams and managing competing priorities.
- Experience with Advanced Quality Planning (AQP) in a production environment.
- Familiarity with cost reduction initiatives and the ability to identify and implement cost-saving opportunities.
- Experience supporting or leading multi-disciplinary teams focused on process improvement and cost reduction.
- Comfort working closely with suppliers to develop processes and resolve technical issues.
- Ability to coach and mentor other engineers on process improvement and RCCA activities.
- Strong continuous improvement mindset with a focus on eliminating waste from manufacturing processes.
- Adaptability to wear multiple hats and collaborate across engineering, planning, operations, and quality functions.
Work Environment
This is a full-time, onsite role in a primary manufacturing facility, working a standard 40-hour workweek, Monday through Friday. The schedule offers flexibility, with typical hours around 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and the option to start between approximately 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. to accommodate personal needs such as family responsibilities. The Manufacturing Engineer will be stationed in the main building and work closely with a team of about 15 engineering professionals, including Manufacturing Engineers and planning specialists, in a cohesive, collaborative environment. The culture emphasizes growth, continuous improvement, and cross-functional collaboration, with opportunities to work on both legacy programs and new, incoming aerospace projects. Team members frequently engage with other departments, allowing individuals to take on varied responsibilities and contribute broadly across the organization.
Job Type & Location
This is a Permanent position based out of Burbank, CA.
Pay and Benefits
The pay range for this position is $85000.00 - $90000.00/yr. Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors. health, dental, vision, 401K, 10 holidays, 2 weeks PTO
Workplace Type
This is a fully onsite position in Burbank,CA.
Application Deadline
This position is anticipated to close on Oct 23, 2026. About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

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sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected
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Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the
city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants
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