Solvay is a science company whose technologies bring benefits to many aspects of daily life. Our purpose-we bond people, ideas and elements to reinvent progress-is a call to go beyond, to reinvent future forms of progress and create sustainable shared value for all through the power of science. In a world facing an ever-growing population and quest for resources, we aim to be the driving force triggering the next breakthroughs to enable humanity to advance while protecting the planet we all share.
We bond with customers and partners to address today and tomorrow’s megatrends. As a global leader in Materials, Chemicals and Solutions, Solvay brings advancements in planes, cars, batteries, smart and medical devices, water and air treatment, to solve critical industrial, social and environmental challenges. You can count on our innovative solutions to contribute to safer, cleaner and more sustainable future.
Position Overview
Solvay is now actively recruiting a Senior Customer Engineer (CE) to support its long term technical and business growth in the Americas region for the Aerospace and Defense market segment team. Customer Engineering is the technical excellence organization within the Customer Technical Development team whose main responsibilities are to drive growth and customer delight through the leadership of new & existing technologies in the composites industry.
In this position, the CE will be working towards the following goals:
- Develop and nurture new composite materials and manufacturing technologies aligned to the market and customer needs
- Lead concept development activities for new opportunities coupling material, process, and part design
- Be the principal technical interface with our customers and be the voice of the customer for Solvay’s internal functions
- Assess technology gaps and provide advise for future product and process development
- Promote Solvay products and technologies and articulate value propositions to our customers
- Advise on materials and process selections for new composite material applications
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
- Lead and support projects requiring material manufacturing, prototyping, and part builds from thermoset prepregs, thermoplastics, adhesives, primers, and surfacing films with processes including autoclave, out-of-autoclave, press-molding, resin infusion.
- Provide field technical support to major aerospace OEM and subcontractors for new and legacy programs.
- Identify and lead resolution of material issues in aerospace composite shops. Act as the “Voice of the Customer” to liaise with the greater part of Solvay to affect a mutually acceptable resolution.
- Advise customers on processing and properties of Solvay products. Ability to support trade studies and provide recommendations on product options and selection based on customer parts & applications. Contact levels will range from shop floor mechanics to senior management in procurement, engineering, research/development, quality, and manufacturing areas.
- Lead and support research and development activities that aim at achieving technical and business objectives.
- Support simulation analysis and development for composite part manufacturing and structural performance
- Identify potential new applications for Solvay products and support Account Managers in capturing new business, assessing market trends, developing business cases, and evaluating competitor’s materials. Identify and foster new processes for material deposition, forming, and curing to support technology adoption on aerospace platforms.
- Accompany customers as needed on Solvay site audits and visits, leading where required.
- Support and/or lead targeted projects in Solvay or customer shops. Areas include product configuration, capability, cost reductions, problem solving, Lean manufacturing, etc.
- Support characterization and producibility studies of new material developments
- Comprehend business line strategies to establish objectives and customer touch points at assigned accounts.
- Support coordination of conformance and specification issues between Solvay plants and Key Customer Procurement and Specification Custodians.
- Provide support for customers outside the targeted region as appropriate.
- Become a Subject Matter Expert (SME) on one or more aspects of composite part manufacture
Qualifications and Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field such as Engineering or Material Science discipline.
- Knowledge of aerospace composite part fabrication.
- Experience resolving product and process capability issues in composite part applications.
- Minimum 5 years demonstrated work experience including: problem solving, technical presentations, project management, relationship building, and identification of new opportunities.
- Minimum of 2 years’ experience on reviewing composite part designs / drawings for manufacturability and specification compliance.
- Minimum of 3 years’ experience on Research and Development of composite materials and processing technologies including simulation.
- Understanding of the aerospace industry including OEMs, their suppliers, various programs, aerospace quality systems, composite testing requirements, statistical process control and capability, etc.
Desired Skills and Behaviors
- Master’s or PhD degree
- Safety conscious and works in a safe manner
- Excellent communication skills
- A self-starter, positive “can-do” attitude, detail-oriented. Takes initiative in solving work-related problems
- Driven towards action, goals, and results. Has the desire to learn, grow, and influence others to excel.
- Has a high attention to detail and demonstrates a sense of urgency.
- Ability to translate technical requirements into business terms to drive decisions.
- Flexible to changing demands, priorities, and work practices.
- Ability to work effectively with other team members.
- Knowledge of composite materials and related manufacturing processes (prepreg, resin infusion, thermoplastics, thermosets, and others)
- Knowledge in adhesives, coatings, and primers used in metal and composite laminates.
- Experience with composite material related testing protocols and standards such as ASTM, CMH-17, SAE, among others.
- Excellent organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple projects and tasks.
- Ability to communicate effectively with peers and management in both verbal and written forms. Can communicate/demonstrate well-defined and documented technical information
Additional Information
- Position requires the handling of customer proprietary information and confidential documents. Discretion is required.
- Position may require travel up to 25%.
- Location can be hybrid between Solvay Anaheim CA plant and home.
“The U.S. annual base salary range reasonably expected to be paid for this new hire is: $78,960 to $142,000. Since actual compensation packages are based on a variety of factors unique to each candidate, we may ultimately pay more or less than the posted base salary range. Total compensation for this role also includes bonus and/or other incentives.”
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