Senior Manufacturing Special Process Engineer

Woodward is committed to creating a great workplace for all team members. Our company and its members are committed to acting with integrity, being respectful and accountable to one another, and staying humble and driven, while maintaining the highest professional and ethical standards.  

We are steadfastly committed to attracting the best talent across our communities creating a rewarding workplace. Together we are fulfilling our purpose to design and deliver energy control solutions our partners count on to power a clean future.  

Woodward supports our members’ wellbeing and regularly benchmarks with other companies in our industry to offer an extensive Total Reward package for this position. Salary will be determined by the applicant's education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.  

Estimated annual base pay: $90,400 (Minimum) - $121,000 (Midpoint) - $149,000 (Maximum)

• All members included in annual cash bonus opportunity.  

• 401(k) match (4.5%) 

• Annual Woodward stock contribution (5%) 

• Tuition reimbursement and Training/Professional Development opportunities for all members   

• 12 paid holidays, including floating holidays.  

• Industry leading medical, dental, and vision Insurance upon date of hire 

• Vacation / Sick Time / Vacation Buy-up / Short Term Disability / Bereavement leave.  

• Paid parental leave.  

• Adoption Assistance   

• Employee Assistance Program, including mental health benefits.  

• Member Life & AD&D / Long Term Disability / Member Optional Life  

• Member referral bonus  

• Spouse / Child Optional Life / Optional AD&D / Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending  

• Voluntary benefits, including:   

  • Home / Auto Insurance discounts  

  • Whole Life Insurance / Critical Illness Insurance / Legal Assistance / Military Leave  

Summary:
A Special Process Engineer at Woodward designs, implements, and improves specialized manufacturing processes to increase efficiency, reduce cost, and ensure safe, high-quality production. This role supports both new product introduction and existing production, working closely with engineering teams, manufacturing, and global supply chain. Responsibilities include process development, equipment installation and support, supplier development, and managing special processes such as heat treatment, chemical processing, coatings, EDM, and surface treatments. The role differs from general manufacturing engineering by focusing on the chemical or physical transformation of materials and serving as a bridge between product development and full-scale production.

Key Responsibilities:

• Production Support: Lead troubleshooting for complex process issues, applying advanced tools to identify root causes and recommend solutions to optimize workflows. Oversee hardware disposition efforts, including root cause analysis of recurring hardware defects and implementation of corrective actions.

• Manufacturing Process Ownership: Lead efforts to create, standardize, and maintain manufacturing processes for assigned areas. Monitor process metrics and implement changes to ensure reliability and alignment with production goals.

• Process Capability and Improvement: Lead process improvement initiatives, applying techniques like Six Sigma, DOE, FMEA, and/or simulation tools to improve capability and reduce variation.

• Production Documentation Management: Lead efforts to standardize and improve documentation across assigned processes, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and accessibility for operators and engineers. Implement digital documentation systems to streamline updates and enable real-time collaboration.

• Project Support and Leadership: Lead medium-sized manufacturing projects, including risk assessments, process improvements, and resource coordination.

Key Skills:

• Productivity Improvements: Leads medium-sized process improvement projects, focusing on streamlining operations, reducing waste, and improving overall process reliability. Applies tools such as process mapping and root cause analysis to drive measurable improvements.

• Data Analysis: Use data to drive process improvements by identifying root causes of issues and recommending actionable changes to enhance efficiency.

• Conducting Cost Analysis and Optimization: Develop cost models to identify high-cost operations, compare alternatives, inventory analysis, and recommend process improvements to reduce waste, and optimize asset utilization.

• Lean Manufacturing: Lead Lean initiatives within a department, addressing inefficiencies and improving flow using advanced techniques.

• Design for Manufacturability & Assembly: Lead DFMA evaluations for medium-complexity products, identifying opportunities to simplify designs, reduce costs, and optimize assembly processes. Recommend design changes that improve manufacturing efficiency and scalability.

• Equipment: Specifies equipment, tooling, and gaging for projects while creating detailed RFPs and RFQs. Integrates equipment needs into value stream and/or site capital plans. Leads troubleshooting efforts for recurring equipment problems and coordinates with vendors to implement solutions. Oversees preventive maintenance schedules for critical systems.​​

• Mentorship: Provide guidance to entry-level engineers and interns on projects and problem-solving approaches. Offer constructive feedback to help them grow and develop their skills.

• Problem-Solving and Critical Thinking: Solve complex production challenges by applying advanced problem-solving methods, such as DOE or Six Sigma tools.

• Knowledge of APQP Tools and Systems: Leads implementation of APQP deliverables for medium-complexity projects, optimizing tooling/fixturing designs and improving process capability. Reviews data to ensure processes meet quality and performance standards.

• Communication and Collaboration Skills: Present ideas and recommendations to leadership, facilitating collaboration across departments.

Other Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree (BS) and 6+ years of equivalent experience.

• Experience with NADCAP Accreditation is preferred.

• Six Sigma Blackbelt is a plus

This position requires use of information which is subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and/or the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).   All applicants must be U.S. Persons within the meaning of the ITAR and EAR, or eligible to obtain all required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State and/or the U.S. Department of Commerce. The ITAR defines a U.S. Person as a U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident (i.e., 'Green Card holder'), or a protected person (e.g., asylee, or refugee).

Woodward is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other category protected under federal, state, or local laws. 

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