Freelance Jig Fixture Design Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Aerodyne Industries is a dynamic, rapidly growing engineering and information technology services firm headquartered on Florida’s exciting Space Coast. With locations throughout the US, we take pride in delivering small business agility with large corporation capabilities. Our list of clients count on us to prepare NASA’s Missions to the Moon and Mars and to defend our nation supporting the Missile Defense Agency and Department of Defense. Join the adventure of a lifetime by becoming a teammate with Aerodyne Industries and work on projects that will define our future.

This position is part of the Amentum Space Exploration Division (ASED) support to the NASA EM32 Welding & Manufacturing (W&M) team under the Engineering Services and Science Capability Augmentation (ESSCA) contract to the NASA MSFC Engineering Directorate.

Responsibilities:

The position's primary responsibilities are to:

Developing fixture design concepts to position and hold components during friction stir weld and/or fusion weld manufacturing operations including:

Basic fixture structure and the method(s) for aligning the fixture to the welding machine.

Fixture-to-part interfaces.

Fixture automation mechanics.

Developing and maintaining proper positioning and alignment of parts under expected process forces to meet manufacturing requirements.

Assuring tool clearances necessary to perform required manufacturing operations.

Controlling fixture thermal characteristics to assure satisfactory manufacturing results.

Developing jig design concepts necessary to support Welding & Manufacturing team operations. Developing lifting and handling tool design concepts necessary to support Welding & Manufacturing team operations. Planning for safe fixture/jig/tool assembly, integration, and use. Mentoring more junior engineers as they model and analyze the fixtures, jigs and tools; and as they produce fixture/jig/tool drawings, parts lists, assembly plans and/or operating procedures. Exchanging ideas, information, and/or offer technical advice concerning tooling matters. Developing tooling experiments to evaluate new tooling concepts. Helping other EM32 Welding & Manufacturing Team customers understand and resolve tooling problems.

The selected candidate serves as a fully competent engineer or scientist in all conventional aspects of the subject matter or the functional area of the assignments. Applies intensive and diversified knowledge of engineering/scientific principles and practices in broad areas of assignments and related fields. Plans and conducts work requiring judgment in the independent evaluation, selection, and substantial adaptation and modification of standard techniques, procedures, and criteria. Devises new approaches to satisfy unusual or specialized requirements. The selected candidate can represent the organization at technical meetings and conferences and may guide or be assisted by engineers/scientists or technicians.

Qualifications:

BS degree in Mechanical or Civil Engineering or a related field from an ABET accredited institution or equivalent combination of education and experience. Typical educational requirements are the equivalent of a minimum of a BS with at least 5 years’ experience or an MS with at least 3 years’ experience. The selected candidate must be able to obtain and maintain permission to operate customer-owned vehicles in support of work activities. The selected candidate must possess and maintain a valid driver's license, automobile liability insurance and successfully complete a company defensive driving training class.

Relevant candidate work experience will be evaluated against ESSCA contract engineering labor categories.

The selected candidate must be able to obtain and maintain the following customer safety certifications:

Welding Safety.

The selected candidate must have demonstrated experience developing fixture design concepts, jigs and lifting/handling tools in an aerospace manufacturing development environment. The focus of this work is reusable tooling which can accommodate a variety of development projects rather that single-use, automated manufacturing equipment typically used in production line environments. Cost and time to develop/adapt, manufacture, assemble and integrate tooling to support new requirements is the primary emphasis of this work. The selected candidate must demonstrate the ability to develop long-term tooling strategies which will accommodate a variety of development projects. Previous experience working with the following specifications and standards or their predecessors is desired, but not required:

1. NASA-STD-5006, “General Fusion Welding Requirements for Aerospace Materials Used in Flight Hardware.”

2. MSFC-SPEC-3679, “Process Specification – Welding Aerospace Hardware.”

3. ANSI/AWS D17.1/D17.1M:2010-AMD1, “Specification for Fusion Welding for Aerospace Applications.”

4. NASA-STD-8719.9, “Standard for Lifting Devices and Equipment,” revalidated 10/7/07.

5. Marshall Procedural Requirement (MPR) 6430.1-1, “Lifting Equipment and Operations, with Change 1 (4/22/14),” previously MWI 6430.1G-1, “Lifting Equipment and Operations,” (10/20/08).

Essential Functions:

Work Environment:

General office environment (70%), industrial welding / manufacturing development laboratory / machine shop (30%). Requires ability to interact effectively with co-workers, managers, and clients. Requires ability to provide clear, concise, and accurate communications, both verbally and in writing (50%). Travel may be necessary, but infrequent (<5%).

Physical Requirements:

Requires sitting for extended periods of time in meetings with peers, management, and with our client at NASA facilities to discuss technical issues (10%). Also, requires sitting for extended periods of time at a desk to write reports and perform engineering tasks (60%). Requires standing, sitting and walking in a lab environment with hazards that require wearing safety glasses, hard hat, hearing protection, foot protection, gloves and/or protective clothing to perform some operations (30%). Work will be performed on-site at NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (100%). Use of stairs or elevators can gain access to buildings will be required. Some work requires using stairs and/or ladders to access elevated work platforms. Positions can require lifting and/or maneuvering materials and/or equipment weighing up to 40 lbs.

Equipment and Machines:

Requires ability to operate a personal computer, a telephone, fax machine, copier, calculator, and other general office equipment (100%).

Attendance:

Normal workday is from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday thru Friday. Minimal overtime may be required (10%) to meet schedule milestones and to support technical demands of the job. Regular attendance is a necessity and adequate arrangements for delegating duties during absences are required.

Other Essential Functions:

Ability to work independently with minimal supervision, and to make rational decisions, and to exercise good judgment (100%). Grooming and dress must be appropriate for the position and must not impose a safety risk/hazard to the employee or others.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, age, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information, or other legally protected status.

Final compensation is determined through a comprehensive evaluation of several key factors, including the candidate’s educational background, specialized technical expertise, and relevant professional experience. We also consider internal equity, prevailing market data, and specific contractual or funding requirements to ensure competitive and equitable offer alignment.