
Spirit Defense - Mid-Level Research and Development Engineer
Wichita, KSJob$98–151K/yrSeen todaySeen in employer's feed today
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At a glance
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Requirements
Credentials this posting asks for.
Job overview
Spirit Defense seeks a mid-level Research and Development Engineer to develop manufacturing processes and advanced technologies for aerostructure development and assembly. The role advances concepts through prototyping, risk reduction, verification, and validation, and supports industrialization, automation, and engineering projects. The engineer provides technical leadership, collaborates across teams and with external suppliers, and contributes to plans and proposals for future work packages.
Skills & qualifications
Skills
Qualifications
Benefits
Full job description
Overview
This role is at Spirit AeroSystems, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Company, at Spirit’s Defense Business Unit (“Spirit Defense”). Spirit Defense is an independent supplier to the defense and space marketplace. Through innovative engineering and rapid prototyping excellence, Spirit Defense provides the capabilities, technologies and support customers need to succeed in their missions.
Boeing Wichita designs and builds aerostructures for both commercial and defense customers. The Boeing Company operates in multiple different sites worldwide and Wichita KS is Boeing’s second largest site . The company's core products include Boeing 737 , 787, 777X to name a few commercial aircraft and Boeing and Spirit Defense, A Boeing Company in Wichita supports many defense world's premier warfighters . Boeing Wichita focuses on affordable, innovative composite and metals manufacturing solutions to support customers around the globe.
Responsibilities
Position Responsibilities:
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Develop manufacturing processes and advanced technologies for aerostructure development and assembly
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Advance technology and manufacturing readiness levels; Develop concepts through initial configuration, prototyping, risk reduction, verification, and validation.
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Advice on new product configurations with design-for-manufacturing principles in mind
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Author and review assembly plans, test plans, test reports and lead Production 3P event s
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Build Plan Development, Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) Assessments, Tooling Methods and Assembly Processes on Composite and Metallic Structures
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Develop concepts for industrialization and automation
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Develop Basis of Estimates for engineering projects for both internal and customer driven programs
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Provide technical leadership to team of engineers and technicians
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Independent planning of work activities with intra- and inter-organization collaboration as needed
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Ability to lead an engineering project with cross-functional collaboration, technical presentations and
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Project management; plan and achieve key milestones; manage collaborative research with external suppliers
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Support documenting and communicating plans and evaluations for future work packages, i.e. bids and proposals
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Support cross-functional teams in trade studies, industrialization , automation and RCCA
Qualifications
Basic Qualifications (Required Skills and Experience):
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Ability to obtain a U.S. Secret Security Clearance and Special Program Access (for which the U.S. Government requires U.S. Citizenship)
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Must have B.S. Engineering (Mechanical, Materials, Aerospace or equivalent ) from an ABET accredited University
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5-10 years of engineering work experience in aircraft industry
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Subject matter expert with minimum 5 years’ experience in Manufacturing Engineering including working on an ERP system , CAD systems with CATIA suite including tool design , composite part development and manufacturing processes
Preferred Qualifications (Desired Skills/Experience):
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Manufacturing Engineer with Metals and Composites manufacturing knowledge and experience working in a manufacturing environment
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CATIA V5 experience with Part/Assembly/Wireframe Design, Drafting, Surface Design with an emphasis on composite tooling methods and design
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ERP system experience in SAP and GPLM
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Experience in e ngineering d rawing i nterpretation with GD&T
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10 years engineering work experience in aircraft industry
Union:
This is a union-represented position.
Drug Free Workplace:
We are a Drug Free Workplace where post offer applicants and employees are subject to testing for marijuana, cocaine, opioids, amphetamines, PCP, and alcohol when criteria is met as outlined in our policies.
Pay & Benefits:
We strive to deliver a Total Rewards package that will attract, engage and retain the top talent. Elements of the Total Rewards package include competitive base pay and variable compensation opportunities.
We also provide eligible employees with an opportunity to enroll in a variety of benefit programs, generally including health insurance, flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts, retirement savings plans, life and disability insurance programs, and a number of programs that provide for both paid and unpaid time away from work.
The specific programs and options available to any given employee may vary depending on eligibility factors such as geographic location, date of hire, and the applicability of collective bargaining agreements.
Pay is based upon candidate experience and qualifications, as well as market and business considerations.
Summary Pay Range: $98,400 - $150,800
Kansas Tax Credit: Join Spirit AeroSystems’ Kansas team and you may be eligible for a $5,000 state of Kansas Aviation tax credit for up to five years. Click here for more information on the tax credit.
Security Clearance:
This position requires the ability to obtain a U.S. Security Clearance for which the U.S. Government requires U.S. Citizenship.
Visa Sponsorship
Employer will not sponsor applicants for employment visa status.
How this job compares
Set against the 5,674 open Manufacturing Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 4, 2026.
- Pay
- This posting$98–151K/yr
- Kansas median$75–114K/yr24 salary ranges
- US median$97–143K/yr3,217 salary ranges
This range's midpoint, $125K, is 30% above the Kansas median midpoint ($96K) — in the top quarter of Manufacturing Engineer salary ranges in Kansas.
- Openings
- Olive Jobs lists 63 open Manufacturing Engineer jobs in Kansas and 5,674 across the US. Under 1% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
- Hiring the most in Kansas
- Spirit AeroSystems (this employer)16 open
- Panasonic North America7 open
- Actalent5 open
- Experience
- This posting asks for at least 5 years of experience; Manufacturing Engineer postings that state a minimum ask for 3 years at the median (4,474 postings).
- Education
- This posting asks for a bachelor's degree; 3,163 of the 5,674 open Manufacturing Engineer jobs (56%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.
Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 4, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.
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