Manufacturing Engineer - Sheet Metal

HIKINEX

Manufacturing Engineer - Sheet Metal

Los Angeles, CA
Full Time
Paid
  • Responsibilities

    Location: The Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, CA (Onsite)

    If you're interested in learning more about this opportunity or beginning the interview process, feel free to connect directly via LinkedIn:

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ra...

    Senior Manufacturing Engineer – Sheet Metal Forming

    An advanced aerospace and propulsion company is seeking a hands-on Manufacturing Engineer to help establish and scale internal sheet metal forming capabilities focused on high-performance turbine and propulsion hardware.

    This role is ideal for someone who thrives in highly technical, fast-paced development environments and enjoys building manufacturing processes from the ground up. The position will focus heavily on advanced forming methods for thin-wall aerospace materials, including superalloys and other high-temperature metals used in demanding thermal and structural applications.

    The ideal candidate combines deep process knowledge with strong practical engineering instincts around tooling, equipment selection, manufacturability, and prototype-to-production execution.

    Responsibilities

    • Lead the development and scaling of advanced sheet metal manufacturing processes including forming, rolling, spinning, stamping, and deep drawing
    • Establish new in-house manufacturing capabilities from concept through production readiness
    • Design and refine tooling, fixtures, dies, and process workflows for complex aerospace-grade components
    • Collaborate closely with design, manufacturing, and test teams to improve manufacturability, quality, cost, and performance
    • Develop process parameters, validation methods, quality controls, and work instructions to ensure repeatable production outcomes
    • Integrate supporting operations such as heat treatment, laser cutting, welding, and finishing into complete manufacturing workflows
    • Drive rapid iteration and troubleshooting through hands-on experimentation, process optimization, and root-cause analysis
    • Support prototype builds, first-article development, and transition into scalable production environments
    • Evaluate equipment needs and help determine which processes should be internalized versus outsourced

    Qualifications

    • Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Science, or related field preferred
    • 5+ years of hands-on experience in sheet metal manufacturing, forming, tooling, or process development
    • Strong experience with one or more of the following:
      • Metal spinning
      • Stamping
      • Rolling
      • Deep drawing
      • Press forming
      • Tooling or die design
    • Experience working with advanced aerospace materials such as Inconel, titanium, stainless steel, nickel alloys, or other high-temperature superalloys
    • Strong understanding of material behavior during forming operations including spring-back, thinning, tearing, wrinkling, and heat-affected distortion
    • Experience developing manufacturing processes from scratch, including tooling selection, process qualification, and production ramp
    • CAD/CAM proficiency using tools such as NX, SolidWorks, CATIA, Fusion 360, or similar platforms
    • Ability to work onsite in a highly collaborative engineering and manufacturing environment

    Preferred Experience

    • Aerospace, propulsion, gas turbine, turbomachinery, or high-performance thermal system manufacturing experience
    • Experience with combustors, exhaust systems, hot-section hardware, or thin-wall formed assemblies
    • Knowledge of thermal processing operations including annealing, stress relief, and solution heat treatment
    • Familiarity with aerospace quality standards, first-article inspection, and production qualification processes
    • Experience working in startup, skunkworks, R&D, or rapid-development manufacturing environments
    • Exposure to ERP, MES, or PLM systems such as Teamcenter, Odoo, or similar tools
    • Hands-on experience selecting manufacturing equipment, designing tooling strategies, or scaling new fabrication capabilities

    What Makes This Opportunity Unique

    This is not a traditional production support role. The company is building a critical internal manufacturing capability and is looking for someone who can take ownership of the process end-to-end.

    You'll have the opportunity to influence equipment selection, tooling strategy, manufacturing workflows, and long-term production scalability while working closely with a highly technical engineering team developing advanced propulsion hardware.

    The environment is highly hands-on, collaborative, and focused on rapid iteration and technical problem-solving.

    Additional Information

    • Competitive compensation and equity package
    • Comprehensive healthcare coverage
    • PTO flexibility
    • Relocation assistance may be available
    • Due to export control requirements, candidates must qualify as U.S. persons

    Location: The Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, CA (Onsite)

    To learn more or express interest, connect directly via LinkedIn:

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ra...