Engineering Manager - Propulsion Systems

Position Summary

The Engineering Manager is responsible for establishing and scaling engineering support for a small turbine engine assembly and test facility. This role begins as an individual contributor reporting to a remote VP of Operations, working in close coordination with the Operations Manager and Quality Manager to stand up the technical and process foundation of the site.

In Phase 1, the Engineering Manager will work in tight coordination with the Quality Manager and Operations Manager operate hands‑on, resolving design‑for‑manufacturing gaps, stabilizing inherited product definitions, and supporting early builds.

As the organization transitions into production (Phases 2 and
3), the role evolves into a leadership position reporting to the on‑site Plant Manager, leading a small team of manufacturing and propulsion engineers.

This role is central to enabling production scale from New Product Introduction (NPI) through full‑rate production by systematically eliminating variability, resolving failure modes, and improving first pass yield prior to increasing throughput and takt time.

• Partner with Operations and Quality to co‑develop foundational assembly and test processes
• Analyze and “wring out” variability from inherited technical data, including:
• Drawings and specifications from external/legacy sources
• Assembly procedures and work instructions
• Test procedures and acceptance criteria
• Identify gaps in tolerances, stack‑ups, and unclear requirements impacting build consistency
• Critical‑to‑quality (CTQ) identification
• Early tolerance analysis and risk assessment
• Support early engine builds, troubleshooting issues in:
• Assembly processes
• In-process testing
• Rotor balancing and mechanical integrity
• Final acceptance test anomalies
• Begin development of fault trees for known and emerging failure modes
• Participate in and help facilitate:
• Design FMEAs (DFMEA) with design authority
• Process FMEAs (PFMEA) with Operations
• Support structured problem‑solving using 8D Problem Solving when appropriate
• Support Operations’ technician training on assembly/test intent, procedures, and known failure modes

• Hire and lead:
• One Manufacturing Engineer
• One Propulsion Engineer
• Mature and deploy variation management processes established in Phase 1:
• Refine tolerances and reduce ambiguity in drawings and specs
• Standardize and validate assembly and test procedures
• Align engineering outputs with quality control plans and inspection methods
• Lead technical troubleshooting to eliminate repeat failure modes across:
• Assembly defects
• In-process test failures
• Balancing issues
• Final acceptance test failures
• Expand and formalize fault tree analysis as a standard diagnostic tool
• Drive FPY improvement through:
• Root cause identification and elimination
• Close linkage with PFMEA and control plans
• Structured RCCA using 8D Problem Solving where warranted
• Train and certify technicians on:
• Updated assembly and test procedures
• Failure mode recognition and escalation paths
• Collaborate closely with:
• Operations to stabilize workflows and reduce variability
• Quality to ensure alignment between engineering intent, inspection, and acceptance criteria

• Hire and lead:
• Second Manufacturing Engineer
• Second Propulsion Engineer
• Transition focus from defect reduction to process capability and throughput optimization
• Further reduce variation to enable predictable, repeatable cycle times
• Support operations in line balancing and bottleneck reduction through:
• Process improvements
• Tooling and fixture optimization
• Enhance fault tree models using production data for faster troubleshooting
• Ensure engineering documentation is fully controlled, stable, and production‑ready
• Continue training and upskilling workforce as processes evolve
• Partner with Quality to…