Principal Ceramic Engineer

Date Posted:2025-05-30Country:United States of AmericaLocation:PW221: Mikro - Charlottesville,VA 1180 Seminole Trail Suite 220, Charlottesville, VA, 22901 USAPosition Role Type:OnsiteU.S. Citizen, U.S. Person, or Immigration Status Requirements: U.S. citizenship is required, as only U.S. citizens are authorized to access information under this program/contract.Security Clearance: None/Not RequiredJob DescriptionPratt & Whitney is working to once again transform the future of flight—designing, building and servicing engines unlike any the world has ever seen. And because transformation begins from within, we’re seeking the people to drive it. So, calling all curious. Come ready to explore and you’ll find a place where your talent takes flight—beyond the borders of title, a country or your comfort zone. Bring your passion and commitment and we’ll welcome you into a tight-knit team that takes our mission personally. Channel your drive to make a difference into shaping an organization and an industry that’s evolving fast to the future.At Pratt & Whitney, the difference you make is on display every day. Just look up. Are you ready to go beyond?What You Will Do:Pratt & Whitney Mikro Systems manufactures ceramic cores and tooling for turbine castings. Mikro Systems uses a manufacturing process that produces intricate, advanced ceramic cores. Our innovative processes are evolving to keep pace with continually progressing turbine designs. The Mikro team is seeking a talented Ceramic Engineer who can support the design of innovative ceramic systems that challenge the current state of the art in the world of precision investment castings.Key Responsibilities:Innovate with novel ceramic formulations and processes to support new core product designs. Support ceramic core development to understand correlations between ceramic core material formulations and ceramic manufacturing techniques. Provide Operations support and assist with Root Cause Corrective Action (RCCA) process for issues arising from ceramic materials.Support and/or participate in Continuous Improvement (CI) events and CORE activities (quality improvement) of ceramic core materials.Develop comprehensive ceramic material qualification procedures and collaborate with the Quality Materials lab to release product for Operations.Collaborate with metal casting source to understand ceramic core compatibility to achieve design intent.Qualifications You Must Have:A Bachelor’s Degree in related or equivalent experience and minimum 8 years prior relevant experience, or an Advanced Degree in related field and 5 years prior relevant experience.Working knowledge of Microsoft Office computer software including MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.US Citizenship required due to government contract.Qualifications We Prefer:Turbine Blade / Vane knowledge.Knowledge of investment casting and molding tooling design.Ability to communicate effectively with leadership and executive team.Knowledge of polymeric materials: Use in ceramic forming processes (rheology, cure, processing parameters); Characterization & performance testing; Material selection (different polymeric material families, properties)Strong Design of Experiment Methodology and Process Variation Awareness.Experience working various aspects of ceramic material/processing: Materials (Raw materials & compositions), Forming Techniques (Casting, Injection molding), Firing, and Dimensional Control; Machining, Post processing, and Metal casting interactions; Rheology and Process Parameters; Characterization of raw materials, ceramic slurries, and resultant product; New Material Selection (families of materials & properties) In addition to transforming the future of flight, we are also transforming how and where we work. We’ve introduced role types to help you understand how you will operate in our blended work environment. This role is:Onsite: Employees who are working in Onsite roles will work primarily onsite. This includes all production and maintenance workers, as they are essential to the development of our engines.The salary range for this role is 101,000 USD - 203,000 USD. The salary range provided is a good faith estimate representative of all experience levels. RTX considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the role, function and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, location, education/training, and key skills.Hired applicants may be eligible for benefits, including but not limited to, medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability, 401(k) match, flexible spending accounts, flexible work schedules, employee assistance program, Employee Scholar Program, parental leave, paid time off, and holidays. Specific benefits are dependent upon the specific business unit as well as whether or not the position is covered by a collective-bargaining agreement.Hired applicants may be eligible for annual short-term and/or long-term incentive compensation programs depending on the level of the position and whether or not it is covered by a collective-bargaining agreement. Payments under these annual programs are not guaranteed and are dependent upon a variety of factors including, but not limited to, individual performance, business unit performance, and/or the company’s performance.This role is a U.S.-based role. If the successful candidate resides in a U.S. territory, the appropriate pay structure and benefits will apply.RTX anticipates the application window closing approximately 40 days from the date the notice was posted. However, factors such as candidate flow and business necessity may require RTX to shorten or extend the application window.