If you asked ten people to name a space industry company, you would probably hear SpaceX, NASA, or Blue Origin. Almost nobody would say Howmet Aerospace. But here is the thing: Howmet Aerospace makes parts that go into nearly every jet engine and a huge share of the airframes flying today, and the same forging and materials know-how puts them right in the middle of the aerospace and defense supply chain. If you want a real shot at a space or aerospace career and you are not trying to become an astronaut, Howmet Aerospace is exactly the kind of company you need on your radar.
I know the name sounds unfamiliar. That is actually good news for you. Companies that fly under the radar get fewer applicants per opening than the SpaceXs of the world. Less competition for you, same real career, same real paycheck.
What Howmet Aerospace Actually Does
Howmet Aerospace makes the engineered metal parts that other companies cannot make themselves. Think jet engine components, titanium structures for airplanes, aerospace fasteners, and forged wheels for heavy trucks. The company traces its roots back to 1888 and has been making critical aerospace parts for generations. It split off as its own public company in 2020, and today it employs more than 25,000 people across the globe, with headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Here is the part that matters for your career: Howmet Aerospace does not build rockets or satellites. It builds the pieces that let jet engines run hotter and lighter, that let landing gear survive thousands of takeoffs, and that keep airframes structurally sound at 35,000 feet. Airplane manufacturers, engine makers, and defense contractors all depend on parts like these. That makes Howmet a genuine aerospace employer, even if it never launches anything into orbit.
The Four Businesses Inside Howmet Aerospace
Howmet Aerospace runs four main segments, and each one hires differently:
Engine Products makes airfoils and rolled rings for aircraft engines and industrial gas turbines. This is where you will find a lot of the metallurgy and thermal engineering work.
Fastening Systems makes the fasteners, latches, bearings, and fittings that hold airplanes together. It sounds simple until you realize a single wide-body jet uses hundreds of thousands of fasteners, every one of them safety critical.
Engineered Structures produces titanium forgings and machined components for airframes, wings, engines, and landing gear. This is heavy precision manufacturing at its finest.
Forged Wheels makes forged aluminum wheels for commercial trucks, which is not aerospace but shows how the same forging expertise crosses industries.
Why This Counts as a Real Space Career
You do not need a mission patch on your resume to work in space and aerospace. The industry runs on a supply chain, and Howmet Aerospace sits near the top of that chain, supplying engine makers and airframe builders that in turn supply commercial airlines, defense programs, and yes, space launch systems. Titanium forging skills, precision machining, and materials engineering are just as valuable to a rocket program as they are to a jet engine. A lot of engineers move between aerospace manufacturers like Howmet and space companies over the course of a career, because the skills transfer directly.
The Jobs That Do Not Require an Engineering Degree
Remember what I keep telling you: about 44% of jobs in the space and aerospace industry are non-technical. Howmet Aerospace proves that with its own hiring. The company regularly posts entry-level production roles, forge and hot operations trainee positions, and machine operator jobs at plants across the country. You do not need a four-year degree to walk into most of these. You need to show up, be trainable, and take safety seriously.
Locations hiring for hands-on roles have included Midway, Georgia, Rochester, New York, Cleveland, Ohio, Whitehall, Michigan, Dover, New Jersey, and Fullerton and Tucson in the Southwest. Wages for entry-level production and machine operator roles have run in the neighborhood of $23 to $26 an hour, plus benefits like health insurance, 401k matching, and paid time off. That is a real career start, not a summer job.
The Engineering and Technical Career Paths
If you are studying engineering, or you are considering it, Howmet Aerospace hires across a wide range of technical roles. Product engineers, process engineers, quality engineers, and manufacturing engineers all show up regularly in the company’s open positions. Median pay for these roles has ranged from roughly $89,000 for quality engineers up to $118,000 for engineers overall, based on recent postings. Mechanical engineering, materials science, industrial engineering, and metallurgical engineering degrees all line up well with what Howmet needs.
A Machinery’s Handbook (#ad) is the kind of reference real machinists and manufacturing engineers keep on their desk for years. If you are getting serious about precision manufacturing, it is worth having your own copy before you walk into your first shop.
Quality, Safety, and Supply Chain Roles
Manufacturing this precise needs more than engineers on the floor. Howmet Aerospace also hires for quality assurance, supply chain and logistics, environmental health and safety, and industrial maintenance. If you like structure, process, and making sure things are done right every single time, these roles are worth a look. They pay well, they are steady, and they do not always show up when people search “space jobs,” which means less competition for you.
Skills That Actually Get You Noticed
Here is what actually moves the needle on a Howmet Aerospace application. For hands-on roles: reliability, willingness to learn on the job, and basic mechanical aptitude. For technical roles: hands-on CAD experience, familiarity with CNC machining or forging processes, and any coursework or certification in materials science or manufacturing.
If you want to build real CAD skills before you ever apply, working through a dedicated study guide can take you from zero to genuinely useful in a few weeks of steady practice. That is a skill you can put on your resume with confidence, and I have a pick for that below.
What a Day in a Howmet Aerospace Plant Looks Like
Picture a forging floor with presses that shape white-hot titanium and nickel alloys into the exact rough form of a jet engine part. Now picture a precision machine shop next door, where CNC machines cut that rough forging down to tolerances measured in thousandths of an inch. Quality inspectors check every part against aerospace standards before it ever leaves the building. That is the rhythm of a Howmet Aerospace facility: heat, precision, and zero room for error, because the part you are holding might end up in an engine flying over an ocean.
How to Actually Get Your Foot in the Door
Start by checking current openings directly on the Howmet Aerospace careers page, plus Indeed, ZipRecruiter, and LinkedIn, since new roles post constantly across their plants. For production and machine operator roles, apply directly and be ready to talk about any hands-on experience you have, even if it is not aerospace specific. For engineering roles, tailor your resume to highlight materials, manufacturing, or mechanical coursework and any lab or shop experience.
Do not skip the math and problem-solving side of your prep. A solid TI-84 Plus CE Graphing Calculator (#ad) is still the standard for engineering coursework and technical assessments, and having one you know inside and out removes one more thing to stress about.
Helpful Resources for Aspiring Space Professionals
A few tools that make the job search and the technical prep easier:
- What Color Is Your Parachute (#ad): the classic job search guide, and honestly still one of the best for figuring out what kind of role actually fits you before you start applying everywhere.
- SolidWorks CAD Bible Study Guide (#ad): a practical way to build a real design skill that shows up on manufacturing and engineering job postings.
Your Next Step
You do not need to be a rocket scientist to work in the space and aerospace industry, and Howmet Aerospace is proof. Whether you are looking at a production floor job that starts this month or an engineering career that takes a few more years to build, this is a real path into an industry that touches every rocket, every satellite launch, and every commercial flight overhead. Go look at the current openings, pick one role that matches where you are right now, and apply. That is genuinely how it starts.
