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787 Lighting Structural & Payload Design Engineer (Payload Systems Design)

Everett, Washington Job ID JR2025477809 Category Engineering - Mechanical & Structural Role Type Onsite Post Date Oct. 21, 2025
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Job Description

At Boeing, we innovate and collaborate to make the world a better place. We’re committed to fostering an environment for every teammate that’s welcoming, respectful and inclusive, with great opportunity for professional growth. Find your future with us.

The Payloads Organization within Boeing Commercial Airplanes is seeking a Lighting Design Engineer to join the 787 design team in Everett, WA.

At Boeing, we innovate and collaborate to make the world a better place. We’re committed to fostering an environment for every teammate that’s welcoming, respectful and inclusive, with great opportunity for professional growth. Find your future with us.

The Payloads Organization is responsible for the interior of the airplane, including the passenger cabin, cargo compartments, exterior markings, associated systems, and cabin safety. We are how our airline customers fulfill their mission, represent their brand, and shape how the public experiences flight.

Our organization operates in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, which pulls from many scientific disciplines. Be part of the team that connects rigorous technical design to the future of air travel.

The Role:

The lighting system include General Lighting, Lighting Scene Development, Emergency Lighting, and Passenger Information Signs. Technical design considerations include key technology performance indicators, physical/mechanical packaging & integration, electrical design, systems interfaces & communication protocols, optical system performance (e.g., interactions with materials, near-field lighting effects, lens design, etc.), and the human visual system.

Lighting team collaborate closely with the Cabin Systems, Electrical Sub-Systems, Supplier Management, Regulatory Administration, and other Boeing teams. As a Lighting Design Engineer, you will provide technical leadership, communication, and project management and be responsible for design requirements, integration, and installation support into the final aircraft product.

The successful candidate will have a statement of work that spans the product lifecycle, beginning with the upfront technical definition & feasibility studies, through supporting configuration development, identifying & managing risks, and resolving cross-commodity & interface design issues, to performing validation and verification activities and demonstrating compliance to regulatory requirements.

As a result, we are seeking candidates with the following qualities:

  • Leadership: must be a self-starter, adept at leading complex projects and influencing people across and beyond the Interiors organization. 

  • Technical Integration: capability and good knowledge to manage complex design problems involving interface management among multiple product teams, developing solutions, and providing recommendations.

  • Good problem-solving skills and critical thinking.

  • Creativity and innovative thinking: develop solutions that meet customer and Boeing needs.

  • Flexibility, adaptability, and comfort with a highly variable work statement.

  • Excellent communication skills. Ability to clearly communicate complex scenarios with diverse internal and external personnel (peers, executive leadership, other Boeing organizations, suppliers, airlines).

  • Ability to use a variety of media to clearly convey information and ideas to a variety of audiences.

  • Demonstrated interest in continuous learning and development.

Position Responsibilities:

  • Develops, integrates, and documents system functional architecture and requirements to establish the design criteria.

  • Performs, integrates, and approves analytical and test results used to validate and verify systems and components meet requirement specifications.

  • Develops, maintains and modifies interior lighting system and component designs, using 3-D Computer Aided Design, optical modeling & simulation tools and/or other design methods, to provide product definition to other engineering groups, production operations, suppliers and external customers throughout the product lifecycle.

  • Develops new design/analysis processes and tools to improve the effectiveness, quality, and efficiency of the development effort.

  • Manages supplier design development, performance, test, and production activities, and coordinates with the supplier to optimize the design and achieve program goals.

  • Reviews supplier technical data and ensures adherence and alignment to customer and Boeing requirements.

  • Leads qualification and certification activities for lighting products.

  • Monitors and proposes mitigation plans in response to regulatory changes that impact aircraft lighting, for example the RoHS restriction on mercury in the EU or the Minamata Convention in Japan. 

  • Investigates emerging lighting technologies to develop concepts for future product designs to meet projected requirements.

  • Occasional travel may be required to supplier and/or customer facilities. 

Basic Qualifications (Required Skills/Experience):

  • Bachelor of Science (or equivalent) from an accredited course of study, in engineering

  • 2+ years of experience in engineering, including design, integration, and/or certification or equivalent combination of additional education and relevant experience 

Preferred Qualifications (Desired Skills/Experience):

  • 5+ years of related work experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience, including design, integration, and/or certification or equivalent combination of additional education and relevant experience

  • Familiarity with Design for Manufacturing (DfM) principles, including experience with electronics manufacturing methods

  • Experience supporting a cross-functional/integrated product team

  • Preferred experience in aerospace interiors, lighting technology, materials properties, design criteria, certification, and release processes

  • Knowledge of optics and lighting system design including the use of optical modeling & simulation tools, such as SPEOS, ASAP, or LightTools, as well as photometric & radiometric verification methods and equipment

  • Familiarity with the challenges of addressing component obsolescence and qualifying replacement lighting products for legacy lighting technologies

  • Experience in program or project management, leading project and/or program proposals of varying complexity (including development and execution of schedule milestones, financial assessments, resource assessments, risk & issues management, etc.)

  • Knowledge of the program management best practices, including management of risks, issues, and opportunities

  • Familiarity with the challenges of addressing component obsolescence and qualifying replacement lighting products for legacy lighting technologies

  • Experience supporting qualification and certification of aerospace products, or equivalent combination of additional education and relevant experience

  • Preferred experience and demonstrated understanding of FAA Title 14 Part 25 and/or EASA equivalent as they apply to product design, including development & management of certification plans, generating compliance documentation, and evaluating changes to type design to determine certification requirements

  • Familiarity with the challenges of addressing component obsolescence and qualifying replacement lighting products for legacy lighting technologies

Typical Education/Experience:

Associate (Level 2)

Education/experience typically acquired through advanced technical education from an accredited course of study in engineering, typically 2 or more years' related work experience or an equivalent combination of technical education and experience (e.g. Masters’ related work experience). In the USA, ABET accreditation is the preferred, although not required, accreditation standard.

Mid-Level (Level 3)

Education/experience typically acquired through advanced technical education from an accredited course of study in engineering, typically 5 or more years' related work experience or an equivalent combination of technical education and experience (e.g. PhD, Master+3 years' related work experience). In the USA, ABET accreditation is the preferred, although not required, accreditation standard.

Relocation:

This position offers relocation based on candidate’s eligibility

Union:

This is a union represented position

Shift:

This position is for 1st shift

Drug Free Workplace:

Boeing is 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.

At Boeing, 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.

The Boeing Company also provides 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.

Summary pay range for Associate (Level 2) $80,750 - $109,250

Summary pay range for Mid-Level (Level 3) $96,050 - $129,950


Applications for this position will be accepted until Oct. 31, 2025


Export Control Requirements: This position must meet export control compliance requirements. To meet export control compliance requirements, a “U.S. Person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. §120.15 is required. “U.S. Person” includes U.S. Citizen, lawful permanent resident, refugee, or asylee.

Export Control Details: US based job, US Person required

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Equivalent Required

Relocation

This position offers relocation based on candidate eligibility.

Visa Sponsorship

Employer will not sponsor applicants for employment visa status.

Shift

This position is for 1st shift


Equal Opportunity Employer:

Boeing is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic factors, military/veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.

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Your Benefits

No matter where you are in life, our benefits help prepare you for the present and the future.

  • Generous company match to your 401(k).
  • Industry-leading tuition assistance program pays your institution directly.
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These programs are subject to eligibility requirements and other conditions, which may differ for employees of certain subsidiaries or business units, or union-represented employees depending on bargaining agreement terms. If this information conflicts with the program documents, the latter shall control. This material is informational only.

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