Aerospace & Defense STEM OPT Jobs in Texas
Texas is one of the top states for aerospace and defense hiring, with major employers like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, and L3Harris operating facilities across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Houston, and San Antonio. F-1 students on STEM OPT authorization can pursue engineering, systems, and technical roles at companies with established OPT hiring programs in these hubs.
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Position Summary:
Performs quality control inspections, checks, and tests during the manufacture of products. Inspects materials, parts and products at different stages of production. Records observations and drives changes/ recommendations for improving processes.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following, other duties may be assigned:
- Responsible for timely completion of program launch deliverables.
- Plans and supervises daily activities of quality project engineers, and measurement technicians to ensure adherence to established department, organization, and customer specification parameters.
- Ensure customer requirements are understood and communicated to the departments.
- Works with cross-functional teams (department and site) to address customers concerns from containment through the implementation of corrective/preventive actions.
- Review existing data from past programs’ customer reviews, and provide feedback to the program team for improvement and risk mitigation for HoV programs.
- Project Management skills.
- Be the focal for Quality aspects (receiving inspection/FAI parts, supplier approval, FAI/CSI, test conformity, hand-over to process quality engineers) for assigned HoV programs.
- Review and approve Design Change Proposals for seat programs, conforming to RECARO Quality System.
- Review and approve effectivity lists for HoV programs.
- Conduct daily shop floor meetings with the quality projects team, to oversee progress, and address deviations, and plan risk mitigation on on-going projects.
- Work load planning and resource allocation for quality projects engineers, and measurement team.
- Responsible for all personnel issues and performance evaluations of direct reports, including performance management, identifying training needs, capacity building and succession planning.
- Develops and maintains quality statistics, charts defects and non-conformities utilizing computer system. Maintains all relevant documentation.
- Perform internal audit of the FAI/CSI process, and continually improve the processes.
- Coordinate preparation and approval of commitment letters for deviations related to customer requirements on assigned HoV programs.
- Prepare Quality Inspection Dossiers, for deviations from RECARO standards, and/or per customer requirements for HoV programs.
- Establishes quality control plans for customer programs and ensures final product meets the required control plans. Records and resolves deviations.
- Acts as a liaison between customer program activities to final/ source inspectors to ensure final product meets the quality requirements of customer, regulatory authorities, OEM and internal specifications.
- Analyze and assist in driving the DPU (Defects per Unit) reduction along with production team.
- Liaise with OEM (Airbus and Boeing) inspection to reduce factory defects found at OEM facility.
- Performs Quality inspections in a manner that ensures all quality and production standards are met and the final product meets RECARO engineering specifications, customer, and regulatory requirements (FAA, EASA, LBA, and other CAA) and OEM (Airbus and Boeing) specifications.
- Assists and offers solutions for the successful resolution of quality issues. Suggests new and improved methods for continuous improvement of the quality management system.
- Maintains quality statistics, charts defects and nonconformities utilizing computer system. Maintains all relevant documentation.
- Is a Material Review Board (MRB) member, calls MRB Meeting and is part of the decision making process. Prepares periodic reports pertaining to quality issues and their resolution from First Article Inspection (FAI) and Customer Seat Inspection (CSI).
- As needed, calls MRB Meeting and is part of the decision making process. Prepares reports pertaining to quality issues and their resolution.
- Initiate quality documentation as required concerning issues of assembly and/or materials.
- Moderate to heavy use in SAP and CDB.
- Coordinates closely with other RECARO sites to ensure consistency with practices, procedures and specifications.
- Support Lean and 5S initiatives.
- Participate actively in continuous improvement program and corrective action projects, contributing by leading specific improvement activities. Perform root cause analysis of defects data and drive improvements.
- Assists and implements solutions for the successful resolution of quality issues. Suggests new and improved methods for continuous improvement of the quality management system.
- Maintains complete knowledge of the Quality Management Manual and relevant procedures and follows all guidelines as defined by ISO9001/AS9100, Airbus and Boeing requirements, customer requirements, FAA and other regulatory authorities.
- Perform First Article Inspection (Inspection & Measurement) on seats and prepare documentation in accordance with AS9102/ISO-9102.
- Create MRBs to document non-conformities observed during final inspection, and first article inspection of the seat assembly and implements solutions.
- Performs conformity inspection on test articles (seats and flammability test coupons).
- Perform periodic review of the internal seat First Article Inspection (FAI) and Customer Seat Inspection (CSI) processes, and make continuous improvements to both.
- Participate in dress cover workshops, and responsible for dress cover reference sample approval for HoV programs. Prepare necessary documentation (datasheets, photographs) for approval of dress covers for HoV programs.
- Participate in Preliminary Design Reviews (PDR) and Critical Design Reviews (CDR) for HoV programs, and implement changes as necessary for quality inspection plans, per OEM and customer requirements for serial production of seats.
- Responsible to identify quality requirements within the customer program and resolve non-compliances.
- Responsible for driving APQP (Advanced Product Quality Planning) on HoV programs (development and production hand-over phases).
- DFMEA / PFMEAs alignment for HoV programs, until hand-off to process quality engineers.
- Measurement System Analysis.
- Statistical Process Control.
- Be able to use considerable judgement and discretion in performing your duties.
- Ability to read and write English.
- Ability to travel internationally.
- Be able to work independently as well as be a team player.
- Excellent interpersonal skills.
- Flexible schedule.
Qualifications
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Education/Experience:
- Requires a bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline. Must have 3-5 years of related experience. Prior experience managing/supervising teams.
- Must have a working knowledge of Quality Management System requirements.
- Knowledge of FAA and Aerospace OEM requirements is required.
- Working knowledge on risk management tools.
- Should have a background in product and process control methods.
- Should have a working knowledge of statistical process control.
- Must have a strong understanding continuous improvement methodologies and tools.
- Must be familiar with manufacturing and production processes.
- Project Management experience desired.
- Experience in the automotive industry preferred.
- Must be able to read engineering drawings and Bill of Materials (BoM), complete basic statistical computations, write detailed reports.
- Familiarity with products, its composition and the methods of production as well as an in-depth knowledge of quality guidelines, including customer requirements and regulatory requirements and procedures.
STEM OPT Aerospace & Defense Job Roles in Texas
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Search Aerospace & Defense Jobs in TexasAerospace & Defense STEM OPT Sponsorship Jobs in Texas: Frequently Asked Questions
Which aerospace and defense companies sponsor F-1 STEM OPT visas in Texas?
Texas hosts a concentration of major aerospace and defense contractors with documented OPT hiring histories. Lockheed Martin operates large engineering facilities in Fort Worth and Grand Prairie. Raytheon Technologies has a significant presence in the Dallas area. L3Harris, Boeing, Bell Textron, and Northrop Grumman also maintain Texas operations. Sponsorship practices vary by location, business unit, and specific role, so verifying each employer's current STEM OPT policy directly is essential.
Which cities in Texas have the most aerospace and defense F-1 STEM OPT sponsorship jobs?
Dallas-Fort Worth leads in volume, anchored by defense contractors like Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth and numerous suppliers across the metroplex. Houston supports aerospace roles tied to NASA's Johnson Space Center and its commercial space contractor ecosystem. San Antonio has a strong defense aviation presence through military installations and maintenance, repair, and overhaul operations. Austin is a smaller but growing market for aerospace-adjacent technology roles.
What types of aerospace and defense roles typically qualify for F-1 STEM OPT sponsorship?
Roles that commonly qualify include systems engineering, avionics and electrical engineering, mechanical and structural engineering, software engineering for embedded or mission-critical systems, manufacturing engineering, and data analysis. These positions generally require a degree in engineering, computer science, physics, or a related STEM field. Positions requiring active U.S. security clearances can limit eligibility for international students, so candidates should confirm clearance requirements before applying.
How do I find aerospace and defense F-1 STEM OPT sponsorship jobs in Texas?
Migrate Mate filters aerospace and defense job listings specifically by visa authorization type, making it practical to identify Texas employers with F-1 STEM OPT sponsorship history rather than sorting through general postings manually. You can search by city, role type, and industry to surface companies that have previously filed for OPT workers in aerospace and defense disciplines. Reviewing employer DOL filing records through OFLC can also help confirm sponsorship activity.
Are there any Texas-specific or industry-specific considerations for F-1 STEM OPT sponsorship in aerospace and defense?
Security clearance requirements are a significant factor unique to defense work. Many positions at prime contractors require a U.S. security clearance, which F-1 students are generally ineligible to hold. This narrows the pool of accessible roles to unclassified programs and commercial aerospace work. Texas also has no state income tax, which affects compensation calculations. Students should confirm their STEM OPT employer meets E-Verify enrollment requirements, which USCIS mandates for all STEM OPT extension employers.