Principal Design Engineer

RH Aero Systems is setting the standard for aviation support equipment and services. Through our industry-leading businesses – Rhinestahl and HYDRO Systems – we deliver capability across custom-designed Ground Support Equipment, OEM-licensed engine and airframe tooling, 26 global service centers and innovative engineered solutions for OEMs, MROs and Operators worldwide. RH Aero Systems’ global headquarters are in Mason, Ohio, USA, and Biberach, Germany.

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Job Summary:

The Principal Design Engineer serves as the technical lead for product design and development, acting as a key engineering interface between customers, internal product development teams, and manufacturing operations. This role is responsible for leading the design and development of new products, driving product improvements, and ensuring technical solutions meet customer requirements, quality standards, and manufacturing capabilities with an expectation for overall project timeliness.

Working within a cross-functional environment, the Principal Design Engineer collaborates with engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, and customer teams to develop technical roadmaps and execute innovative design solutions in alignment to the customers project timeline. This role plays a critical part in translating customer needs into timely, robust, manufacturable products while supporting business growth and operational excellence.

The Principal Design Engineer also participates in the Technical Review Board to ensure designs and technical documentation meet requirements for performance, compliance, manufacturability, cost effectiveness, and timely product delivery.

• Serve as the technical lead for product design and development, creating new designs and improving existing products through sound engineering principles, analysis, and design best practices.
• Lead engineering activities for new product and tooling development programs, guiding designs from concept through design release and production support in accordance with ISO 9001 standards.
• Lead technical engagement with OEM customers and internal stakeholders to translate requirements into robust, manufacturable engineering solutions.
• Provide technical leadership for product development initiatives, supporting product strategy and identifying opportunities for innovation, performance improvement, and market growth.
• Collaborate cross‑functionally with manufacturing, supply chain, quality, and operations teams to ensure designs meet requirements for performance, manufacturability, cost, timeliness and reliability.
• Collaborate across technical disciplines. While the emphasis in this role is mechanical; electronic, software, and other disciplines will be included in these efforts.
• Participate in the Technical Review Board to ensure design integrity, documentation completeness, and compliance with engineering and quality standards.
• Support root cause analysis and resolution of design or manufacturing issues, implementing corrective actions to improve product performance and reliability.
• Provide technical guidance to internal teams, suppliers, and customers to ensure alignment with engineering specifications and design intent.
• Drive continuous improvement in design processes, engineering tools, and product configuration management.

Qualifications and

Experience:

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering - Mechanical, Aerospace, Manufacturing, Electrical or related discipline
• 12+ years of engineering experience in product design, manufacturing engineering, or product development within a technical environment.
• Demonstrated experience developing product designs from concept through detailed models and drawings.
• Proficiency with SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD modeling and drawing tools is required, additional experience with Siemens NX is a plus.
• Experience working cross‑functionally to translate and document customer requirements into engineering solutions.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to effectively interface with customers, suppliers, and internal teams.
• Working knowledge of configuration management processes, such as…