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Mechanical Engineers Drive Change

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Curtiss-Wright Corporation—
An Evolving Company
Headquartered in Roseland, NJ, Curtiss-Wright is a diversified, global provider of highly engineered products and services. Its 7,500 employees worldwide serve the motion control, flow control, and metal treatment industries. Angela M. Jones, a human resources specialist with the company’s motion control division, gives some details: “Our flow control segment provides services to our U.S. naval program—a nuclear program—as well as aircraft carriers and submarines. Our metal treatment division also provides services to automotive, defense, and aerospace industries.”
Approximately 15% of Curtiss-Wright’s motion control division employees are mechanical engineers, Jones estimates. The company also employs design, product development, test, project, software, hardware, electrical, reliability, and stress analysis engineers.
They are hired through professional recruiters, trade magazines, Web-based recruiting sites, and on-campus visits to universities. Prospective engineers can also apply online at the company’s Website. In addition to technical skills, Curtiss-Wright looks for individuals with good teamwork talents who are also self-directed, self-motivated, and with a good work ethic. Jones adds that integrity, commitment, respect, and accountability are among the other nontechnical skills the company looks for in prospective employees.
Some of its locations offer internships and co-op programs to engineering students. “We have an engineering co-op program in place in Gastonia, NC, and we recruit engineering science, mechanical, electronics, and electrical engineering students to work there,” Jones says.
Incentives for full-time employees might include relocation benefits (where applicable), an employee stock purchase plan, and a tuition reimbursement program that Curtiss-Wright hopes will help attract new engineers. Once onboard, engineers receive support through in-house training, on-the-job training, and off-site training courses. Mentoring is also offered on an informal basis.
Jones explains that, with supervision by a more senior engineer, mechanical engineers assigned to the motion control division might be assigned to create preliminary component layouts, explore and evaluate design requirements, and perform conceptual and detailed mechanical or electronic designs. “Kind of getting their feet wet,” she states. Their career paths can progress into lead engineer roles, management roles, and director-level roles. Additional education might be required for some positions and responsibilities.
“We’re definitely an evolving company,” says Jones, noting that Curtiss-Wright has a longstanding reputation for engineering excellence, superior performance, and customer satisfaction. With its desire to maintain that reputation, the company will continue to hire individuals with a strong work ethic and a willingness to learn and grow.
For more information about the company and to apply online, go to <www.curtisswright.com>.

Whirlpool Corporation—
Challenging The Status Quo
With annual sales of more than $19 million, Whirlpool is the world’s leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances. It has more than 73,000 employees working in more than 70 manufacturing and research centers around the world. Its headquarters is in Benton Harbor, MI. In addition to mechanical engineers, the company hires electrical and chemical engineers. “We also hire some industrial or supplier quality engineers for various roles, such as in operations or in supply chain,” says Julie J. Motta, manager of talent acquisition.
She adds that entry-level engineers are hired from a number of core schools, typically midwestern schools, although the current strategy is to expand the search nationally to schools where Whirlpool feels it will be successful. The company also hires entry-level engineers from career fairs, such as the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and the National Society for Black Engineers (NSBE) career fairs. Prospective candidates can also apply for positions online at: http://www.whirlpoolcareers.com/.
In addition to technical skills, the company looks for individuals who will continuously challenge the status quo, who will drive change, and look for improvements in design and processes. Communicating well, understanding the impact of their decisions on others, and being able to think globally are other important attributes. Speaking a foreign language, while not a requirement, is seen as a benefit. Motta explains, “These folks are going to be assuming leadership roles eventually in their career.”
Summer internships are offered to students who have completed their sophomore and junior years. They are chosen because they’ve already completed some engineering courses and begun to understand the technical aspects of engineering, Motta explains. While internships are not rotational, since they are only three months long, returning students can work at a different assignment or product category in subsequent summers and rotate into a full-time position upon graduation.
Whirlpool offers its full-time employees a fairly strong relocation program and tuition reimbursement for college courses leading to a bachelor’s or advanced degree and for internal and external training opportunities. A signing bonus is sometimes offered, depending on the position and the location. An annual bonus is tied to both individual and company performance.
New hires attend an orientation program, meet key team members they need to know, and learn some of the systems they will need in order to do their jobs. “These employees will then rotate and meet with some of the experts in various areas to find information they need or to obtain training they need on certain systems,” Motta declares. For the first three months, each new hire is paired with a “buddy” who will help him or her assimilate into the company and get the functional or organizational information he or she needs.
After that training, they will be paired with a mentor, who will assist them along the career path they choose. “So, it could be someone in marketing or finance mentoring an engineer,” Motta says. “If they want to stay in engineering, they would have an engineering mentor.”
New hires begin, typically, by supporting a particular product category, perhaps refrigeration, cooking, or dishwashers. They might be responsible to manage multiple mechanical engineering projects in structures, design, or testing, sometimes working on global and cross-functional teams, and often interacting with some customers and suppliers as well.
Career paths from entry-level are individualized for each employee, depending on his or her capabilities, skillsets, and priorities. Those who prefer it can move up to more senior engineering levels into either a technical or management type role. They can move into different product categories, research and development, or manufacturing, which Motta says will give them a broader level of experience in terms of the product life cycle. Those who want to move out of engineering can go into a business area, perhaps procurement, supply chain, or marketing.
For the future, Whirlpool wants to shift the world’s perception of the company from its present “leading global appliance manufacturer” to “leading global consumer brand and products company.” To achieve this plan, future Whirlpool engineers will need to bring new and innovative thinking to the table that’s going to drive what it calls technology excellence. They will need to be able to drive change, proactively identify and create best practices, and learn to lead diverse teams across functions and across the world.
More information about the company is available at <www.whirlpool.com>.

Rolls-Royce Corporation—
Moving To The Next Level
Rolls-Royce is a leading provider of power-generation systems and services for both the civil and defense aerospace markets as well as the marine and energy markets. It designs, develops, and produces gas turbine engines and provides aftermarket services for them. Its global headquarters is in the United Kingdom, but it also has a U.S. headquarters in Chantilly, VA, just outside Washington, DC. It has about 38,000 employees in 50 countries, with between a quarter and a third of them mechanical engineers, according to Joe Krok, university relations manager for Rolls-Royce North America. The company also hires aerospace, electrical, industrial, material science or metallurgy, and even some naval engineers.
A good portion of Rolls-Royce’s mechanical engineers is recruited from Purdue University and the University of Illinois. Other schools include Georgia Tech, Michigan, Texas A&M, and Ohio State. Applications are also accepted online. In addition to excellent technical skills, recruiters look for mechanical engineers who display good judgment, are energetic, have integrity, can manage relationships, and work well.
Rolls-Royce offers both internships and co-op programs to college students. Typically, interns work in the summer after their junior year, although, Krok says, local college students can work in the fall and spring as well. Co-ops can begin after a student has completed one academic year—summer interns do not rotate functions. Co-ops can do at least three different rotations in three different functions, for example, design, systems performance, and manufacturing processes.
Full-time engineering hires receive on-the-job training as well as mentoring, both formal and informal. “We have an introduction to gas turbine engines course, so any engineer who really isn’t familiar with the way a gas turbine engine is designed and operates will take that intro to gas turbine engines course,” Krok explains.
Mechanical engineers might work in one of 13 different engineering functions, which include design, analysis, project engineering, test engineering, and manufacturing engineering. For example, they might start in basic design and move to very advanced design analysis, depending on their proficiency.
From entry level, they might take the technical path, becoming increasingly more proficient. By the time they reach the pinnacle of that career path, they might give presentations at national conventions, be considered an expert in their field, and even write a textbook on their subject.
Another career path is in project engineering, which focuses on the cost, quality, and scheduling of a particular program and combines the people and resource management part of engineering with the technical side. Engineers taking that path might start out designing a small component of an engine program; the pinnacle of that path is as chief program engineer for a major engine program like the F136.
A third path is a management road, where the pinnacle is to become a chief engineer and run a function; some of the responsibilities of a chief engineer are to be in charge of a pool of engineers, determine the number of engineers needed within that function, and the skills they need.
Rolls-Royce’s future strategy includes building engines that will have less impact on the environment—engines that are quieter, more fuel efficient, and rely less on fossil fuels. They will look for engineers who have skillsets to deal with extreme thermal and noise management issues, since engines get hot and noisy the faster they go. Engineers will need to be able to design engine components that are strong, but also extremely light and efficient in order to increase fuel efficiency.
Because more electrical components will be added in the future, engineers who have good systems integration and systems power management skills will be in demand. And, finally, since gas turbine engines are expensive to operate, Rolls-Royce will look for individuals who can find ways to lower the cost to operate them. “We look for engineers that can take us to the next level,” Krok says.
More information about the company can be found at <www.rolls-royce.com>
<http://www.rolls-royce.com/careers/us >.

 

Boeing—
Learning Together
This Chicago, IL-based company is the world’s leading aerospace company and the largest manufacturer of commercial and military aircraft. Its more than 160,000 employees worldwide design and manufacture rotorcraft, electronic and defense systems, and missiles. Boeing also operates the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station for NASA.
In addition to mechanical engineers, the company also hires aeronautical, metallurgical, systems, and structural engineers. They are hired through college recruitment as well as Boeing’s participation in local, regional, and national career-related events and activities, career fairs, open houses, and the company’s Website, <www.boeing.com/employment > <http://www.boeing.com/employment>.
According to Robert Poole, senior manager for college & diversity recruiting, Boeing looks for mechanical engineers and others with strong analytical and problem-solving skills who can communicate well, listen to other ideas and points of view, and work well as part of a team. The ability to adapt to the rapid changes in the industry is also important.
The company offers both internships and co-op programs to college students. Historically, it has sought juniors or seniors for these programs because they have already done some of their engineering coursework. But, today, the goal is to start to look at first- and second-year students to be able to have more time to evaluate them and for them to evaluate Boeing.
Because many of their skills might be transferable from one discipline to another, a mechanical engineer working in one organization within Boeing can have multiple careers—change locations, job goals, and even disciplines—without changing companies. Its “Learning Together” program offers employees the opportunity to earn additional degrees or certifications through online, onsite, and offsite courses. They can learn about everything from project management to presentation skills to systems-type training. Mentoring opportunities are also available in many cases.
An incoming mechanical engineer might begin by working in acoustics, control systems, mechanical design, or in facilities engineering in one of Boeing’s manufacturing locations. From entry level, they could grow within their specific discipline, taking advantage of technical and/or management opportunities. They could also use their transferable skills and move into other areas of the company.
Boeing will continue to look for innovative people who can help the company remain an industry leader well into the future.
Additional information about the company can be found at <www.boeing.com>.