Manager-Aerospace heat treatment facility

JOB DESCRIPTION

Manager Aerospace Heat Treatment Facility

Department: Aerospace Manufacturing / Special Processes
Location: Bengaluru, India
Reporting To: Head of Operations
Experience: 7 to 10 years in Aerospace Heat Treatment / Special Processes
Qualification: B.E./B.Tech./M. Tech. in Metallurgy, Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering or equivalent

1. Role Purpose

To lead the design, establishment, qualification, commissioning and operation of an Aerospace Heat Treatment Facility in accordance with aerospace customer requirements, applicable AMS specifications, Nadcap requirements, AS9100 quality standards, and other relevant national/international standards.

The role will be responsible for developing the facility from concept equipment selection installation process qualification customer approval Nadcap accreditation production ramp-up.

2. Key Responsibilities

A. Facility Setup & Project Execution

• Develop the complete heat treatment facility concept, process flow and capacity plan.
• Define facility layout, furnace locations, material flow, utilities, safety systems and environmental requirements.
• Prepare technical specifications and URS for furnaces and associated equipment.
• Evaluate and select suitable furnace and equipment suppliers.
• Lead equipment procurement, installation, commissioning and acceptance.
• Establish facility capacity based on aerospace customer demand and future growth.
• Coordinate with civil, electrical, utilities, EHS, quality and production teams.

B. Aerospace Heat Treatment Processes

Establish and qualify processes such as:

• Solution Heat Treatment
• Ageing / Precipitation Hardening
• Annealing
• Normalizing
• Quenching
• Hardening and Tempering
• Controlled Atmosphere Heat Treatment
• Titanium alloy heat treatment
• Nickel-based alloy heat treatment
• Stainless steel heat treatment

Experience with medium- to large-size aerospace components will be highly desirable.

C. Aerospace Standards & Compliance

• Establish processes in accordance with applicable AMS, ASTM, customer specifications and aerospace standards.
• Develop procedures and work instructions for all heat treatment processes.
• Ensure compliance with AS9100 requirements.
• Lead preparation for Nadcap Heat Treating accreditation.
• Develop and maintain Nadcap-required documentation and objective evidence.
• Establish process control plans, control limits, and reaction plans.
• Ensure furnace and process compliance with applicable AMS2750 requirements.
• Coordinate pyrometry activities including:
• Temperature Uniformity Surveys (TUS)
• System Accuracy Tests (SAT)
• Instrument calibration
• Sensor calibration
• Furnace qualification
• Data recording and traceability

D. Process Qualification & Validation

• Develop heat treatment process qualification plans.
• Conduct trials and establish process parameters.
• Develop Process Qualification Reports (PQR).
• Establish metallurgical testing and inspection requirements.
• Coordinate hardness, tensile, microstructure and other required testing.
• Establish correlation between furnace parameters and material properties.
• Maintain complete batch-level traceability.

E. Customer Approval & Nadcap

• Act as the technical lead for aerospace customer audits.
• Coordinate customer process audits and special-process approvals.
• Lead Nadcap preparation, audit readiness and corrective actions.
• Interface with major aerospace OEMs, Tier-1 customers and approved supplier teams.
• Support customer qualification and first article requirements.
• Maintain continuous compliance after accreditation.

F. Quality & Documentation

Develop and maintain:

• Heat Treatment Procedures
• Process Specifications
• Work Instructions
• Furnace Qualification Records
• TUS / SAT Records
• Calibration Records
• Batch Processing Records
• Material Traceability Records
• Process Qualification Reports
• Non-Conformance / Corrective Action Records
• Preventive Maintenance Records
• Training & Competency Records

Ensure complete material-to-process-to-batch traceability.

G. Equipment & Technology Development

• Identify appropriate furnace technologies for aerospace applications.
• Evaluate suppliers such as vacuum, air-circulation and controlled-atmosphere furnace manufacturers.
• Define furnace size, temperature range, load capacity and atmosphere requirements.
• Develop automation and data acquisition requirements.
• Implement digital furnace monitoring and process data storage where appropriate.
• Evaluate future technologies and capacity expansion requirements.

H. Team Building & Operations

• Recruit and develop heat treatment engineers, metallurgists, technicians and operators.
• Establish competency and certification requirements.
• Conduct regular training on aerospace heat treatment processes.
• Establish shift-wise operating systems.
• Monitor furnace utilization, throughput, OTD, rejection and process capability.
• Develop preventive and predictive maintenance systems.

3. Key Performance Indicators

The position will be measured on:

1. Facility commissioning within approved project timeline.
2. Successful furnace installation and qualification.
3. Nadcap Heat Treating accreditation.
4. Successful customer process approvals.
5. Zero major aerospace quality findings.
6. Process qualification completed as per customer requirements.
7. Furnace utilization and capacity achievement.
8. Heat treatment OTD performance.
9. First-pass yield and rejection reduction.
10. Complete batch traceability and documentation.
11. Cost per heat-treatment batch.
12. Customer approval and business ramp-up.

4. Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate should have:

• 7 to 12 years of experience in aerospace heat treatment / metallurgy / special processes.
• Strong knowledge of aerospace alloys and heat treatment requirements.
• Hands-on experience with AMS2750 and Nadcap Heat Treating.
• Experience in setting up or commissioning a new heat treatment facility will be strongly preferred.
• Experience in furnace specification, supplier selection and qualification.
• Experience handling aerospace customer and Nadcap audits.
• Strong understanding of pyrometry, TUS, SAT and calibration systems.
• Knowledge of metallurgical testing and failure analysis.
• Strong project management and team leadership skills.
• Experience with AS9100 and aerospace quality systems.

5. Preferred Experience

Preference will be given to candidates who have previously:

• Set up an aerospace heat treatment facility from greenfield stage.
• Obtained Nadcap Heat Treating accreditation.
• Worked with Airbus, Boeing, Collins Aerospace, Safran, GE Aerospace, Rolls-Royce, HAL or similar aerospace customers.
• Qualified heat treatment processes for aluminium, titanium, stainless steel and nickel alloys.
• Managed large aerospace components and high-value parts.
• Worked with international furnace manufacturers and special-process equipment suppliers.

6. Authority

The role will have authority to:

• Approve heat treatment process parameters within qualified limits.
• Stop production where process or quality requirements are not met.
• Recommend equipment and technology investments.
• Approve process qualification trials.
• Initiate corrective and preventive actions.
• Recommend manpower and capability requirements.
• Interface directly with customers, auditors and equipment suppliers on technical matters.

7. Key Deliverable

The primary objective is to establish a world-class aerospace heat treatment facility capable of obtaining Nadcap accreditation and customer approvals, and subsequently operate the facility with high levels of quality, traceability, capacity utilization and on-time delivery.