ENGINEER - PRODUCTION (SPECIAL PROCESS)

PRIME FUNCTION

To plan, supervise, control, and continually improve aerospace surface treatment operations, ensuring process compliance, product quality, safe chemical handling, on-time delivery, and effective utilization of manpower, equipment, and treatment baths.

JOB DESCRIPTION / RESPONSIBILITIES

• Plan and supervise daily surface treatment operations in line with production priorities and approved process specifications.
• Ensure correct job routing, pre-cleaning, masking, racking, chemical treatment, rinsing, drying, inspection, and safe transfer of treated components.
• Control bath preparation, replenishment, concentration, pH, temperature, immersion time, conductivity, contamination limits, and solution life as applicable.
• Review laboratory analysis and process-control results, initiate corrections, and prevent processing with out-of-limit baths or equipment.
• Ensure compliance with customer specifications, internal procedures, NADCAP requirements, AS9100 controls, and applicable environmental, health, and safety requirements.
• Verify equipment readiness, calibration status, preventive maintenance, tank cleanliness, rinse-water quality, ventilation, and chemical storage conditions.
• Monitor first-pass yield, rework, rejection, bath utilization, chemical consumption, cycle time, and delivery performance.
• Investigate surface treatment defects and nonconformities, perform root-cause analysis, and implement corrective and preventive actions.
• Train and qualify operators on process instructions, chemical handling, PPE, emergency response, and contamination prevention.
• Maintain accurate batch records, chemical logs, laboratory reports, equipment checks, traceability records, and audit evidence.
• Coordinate with Quality, Laboratory, Maintenance, Planning, Engineering, and EHS teams on process performance and improvement actions.

AUTHORITY

• Authorize job release to surface treatment only after confirming documentation, equipment, bath, and operator readiness.
• Stop processing and quarantine affected work when process parameters, bath conditions, product quality, traceability, or safety controls are noncompliant.
• Direct operators and technicians, assign daily work, and recommend manpower allocation and competency development.
• Initiate bath correction, equipment maintenance, defect investigation, and escalation to Quality or management within approved procedures.
• Recommend process improvements, tooling or racking changes, chemical-control actions, and consumable requirements.

JOB SPECIFICATION / COMPETENCY

Qualification:

• Diploma or bachelor’s degree in Chemical, Mechanical, Production, Metallurgy, Industrial Engineering, Chemistry, or a relevant technical field.

Experience:

• 3–7 years of hands-on experience in aerospace or precision-manufacturing surface treatment operations.

Technical Skills

• Knowledge of chemical and mechanical surface preparation and applicable conversion-coating, passivation, anodizing, plating, cleaning, and related treatment processes used at the facility.

• Hands-on capability in bath make-up, titration or analysis review, replenishment, parameter control, contamination control, and bath-life management.
• Ability to read engineering drawings, customer specifications, process sheets, acceptance criteria, and material or chemical safety information.
• Knowledge of masking, racking, handling, rinsing, drying, visual inspection, adhesion or coating checks, and prevention of damage or cross-contamination.
• Familiarity with NADCAP Chemical Processing requirements, AS9100, special-process control, traceability, calibration, and audit preparation.
• Working knowledge of chemical safety, PPE, ventilation, spill response, effluent control, waste segregation, and environmental compliance.
• Working knowledge of SAP or equivalent production systems and standard problem-solving tools.

Core Competencies

• Surface treatment process discipline and attention to detail.

• Leadership, shift coordination, and operator development.
• Structured problem-solving, risk awareness, and timely decision-making.
• Clear communication and cross-functional coordination.
• Strong commitment to safety, quality, delivery, cost, and continuous improvement.

PERFORMANCE MEASURES

• Achievement of the surface treatment production plan and on-time completion of scheduled jobs.
• Percentage of bath and process checks completed within specification and at the required frequency.
• First-pass yield and reduction in rework, rejection, customer complaints, and surface treatment nonconformities.
• Timely closure and effectiveness of corrective actions arising from defects, bath excursions, and audits.
• NADCAP, AS9100, customer, and internal audit readiness with complete and accurate records.
• Chemical, water, energy, and consumable usage against approved norms, including waste-reduction performance.
• Equipment availability, preventive-maintenance compliance, and response time for process interruptions.
• Operator qualification, training completion, adherence to PPE and chemical-safety requirements, and zero preventable incidents.
• Traceability, batch-record accuracy, and timely completion of laboratory and production documentation.

Skills

Competencies