Senior Principal Engineer i Engineering Excellence & Problem Solving

general job summary:

the senior principal engineer engineering excellence & problem solving serves as a senior individual-contributor and technical subject-matter expert responsible for leading complex engineering investigations, improving product and process robustness, and strengthening tdiis structured problem-solving capabilities.

reporting to the director of operations and primarily supporting the engineering organization, this position works cross-functionally with product engineering, design engineering, manufacturing, quality, supplier quality, supply chain, test, program management, and external suppliers.

the senior principal engineer applies design for six sigma, lean six sigma, reliability engineering, statistical analysis, and advanced root-cause methods to resolve complex technical issues involving turbine-engine performance, design variation, manufacturing processes, supplier components, materials, dimensional conditions, measurement systems, assembly, and testing.

this position does not have direct reports and does not replace the responsible design engineer, engineering leadership, configuration control board, quality authority, or functional process owners. The role leads analysis, facilitates technical problem-solving, challenges assumptions, develops recommendations, and builds organizational capability through coaching and standardization.

• lead complex cross-functional investigations involving product performance, design, manufacturing, suppliers, materials, inspection, assembly, and test data.
• establish clear problem statements, containment actions, data-collection plans, root-cause evidence, corrective actions, and validation criteria.
• apply appropriate problem-solving tools, including dmaic, dmadv, dfss, doe, regression analysis, weibull analysis, fault-tree analysis, msa, spc, and process capability.
• ensure teams distinguish between symptoms, contributing factors, escape points, and verified root causes.
• support ncr, capa, fracas, rma, supplier corrective-action, and field-failure investigations.

• support engineering in applying design for six sigma throughout product development, design changes, qualification, and production support.
• facilitate dfmea, design-risk reviews, tolerance analysis, functional analysis, and design of experiments.
• help identify key characteristics, critical characteristics, and performance-sensitive design parameters.
• correlate design requirements, dimensional variation, material properties, manufacturing conditions, and engine performance.
• apply weibull and reliability methods to evaluate failure modes, product life, risk, and improvement opportunities.
• incorporate lessons learned from testing, nonconformances, supplier issues, and field performance into future designs.

• support producibility, manufacturability, inspection, testability, and production-readiness reviews.
• connect dfmea outputs to pfmeas, control plans, inspection plans, work instructions, and process controls.
• identify gaps between engineering intent and manufacturing execution.
• support prototype builds, qualification, validation, low-rate production, and production-release activities.
• help determine whether issues are design-related, process-related, supplier-related, material-related, measurement-related, or test-related.

• support supplier quality with technically complex supplier investigations.
• participate in supplier process reviews, corrective-action reviews, and capability assessments.
• evaluate supplier manufacturing processes, special processes, dimensional data, inspection systems, and measurement correlation.
• support msa, spc, process capability, sampling plans, and measurement-system improvement.
• help develop technical recovery plans for critical components and supplier processes.

• lead selected lean six sigma projects tied to quality, delivery, cost, capacity, reliability, and customer commitments.
• develop tdi problem-solving standards, templates, procedures, and training materials.
• train…