Senior Mechanical Engineer – Aerospace Gearing

Position: Senior Staff Mechanical Engineer – Aerospace Gearing
Woodward is committed to creating a great workplace for all team members. Our company and its members are committed to acting with integrity, being respectful and accountable to one another, and staying humble and driven, while maintaining the highest professional and ethical standards.

We are steadfastly committed to attracting the best talent across our communities creating a rewarding workplace. Together we are fulfilling our purpose to design and deliver energy control solutions our partners count on to power a clean future.

Woodward supports our members’ wellbeing and regularly benchmarks with other companies in our industry to offer an extensive Total Reward package for this position. Salary will be determined by the applicant's education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.

Estimated hourly base pay: $145,000 (Minimum) - $181,000 (Midpoint) - $218,000 (Maximum)
All members included in annual cash bonus opportunity.
401(k) match (4.5%)Annual Woodward stock contribution (5%)Tuition reimbursement and Training/Professional Development opportunities for all members
12 paid holidays

Industry leading medical, dental, and vision Insurance upon date of hire Vacation / Sick Time / Vacation Buy-up / Short Term Disability / Bereavement leave.

Paid parental leave.

Adoption Assistance Employee Assistance Program, including mental health benefits.

Member Life & AD&D / Long Term Disability / Member Optional Life Member referral bonus

Spouse / Child Optional Life / Optional AD&D / Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Voluntary benefits, including:

Home / Auto Insurance discounts

Whole Life Insurance / Critical Illness Insurance / Legal Assistance / Military Leave

Key Responsibilities:

Advanced Gear Process Development & Industrialization Lead end-to-end development of aerospace-qualified gear manufacturing processes development including spur, helical, bevel, and spline gears.

Define and document:

Process flows, PFMEAs, control plans, and work instructions

Key Characteristics (KCs) and Critical-to-Quality (CTQ) features

Process capability requirements (Cp/Cpk) for critical gear geometry

Work cooperatively with gearing designs to improve performance & manufacturability of new gearing products

Develop and optimize machining processes including:

Hobbing, shaping, skiving, broaching

Profile and generating grinding

Honing, lapping, and superfinishing

Establish robust process control strategies for:

Tooth profile accuracy, pitch variation, lead/helix error

Surface finish, residual stress, and distortion control

Define machining parameters, tooling strategies, and thermal controls to ensure repeatability in ultra-tight tolerance aerospace components.

Lead process validation (IQ/OQ/PQ) and AS9102 First Article Inspection (FAI).Drive continuous improvement:

Reduction of transmission error and gear noise

Improved process capability and yield

Implementation of advanced machining techniques and in-process monitoring

Supplier Development & Special Process Management Serve as technical authority for gear manufacturing suppliers and special process providers.

Lead supplier qualification and audit activities to ensure compliance with:

AS9100 quality systems

Aerospace customer requirements

Internal engineering specifications

Oversee and manage NADCAP-controlled special processes, including:

Heat treatment (carburizing, nitriding, induction hardening)
Shot peening and residual stress control

Surface treatments (coatings, plating, corrosion protection)
Non-destructive testing (MPI, FPI, ultrasonic)
Ensure detailed and accurate technical requirement flow-down, including:

Gear macro- and microgeometry specifications

Surface integrity and metallurgical requirements

Full traceability and certification needs

Partner with suppliers on:

Process capability improvement initiatives

Root cause corrective action (RCCA, 8D)
Monitor supplier performance via KPIs and support make vs. buy decisions.

Quality Engineering & Inspection (Precision Components)
Define and implement advanced inspection strategies for aerospace precision components, with emphasis on gearing.

Establish and validate measurement…