Maintenance Technician (Mechanic &… at GKN Aerospace · El Cajon

Fantastic challenges. Amazing opportunities.

GKN Aerospace is reimagining air travel: going further, faster and greener! Fuelled by great people whose expertise and creativity sets the standards in our industry, we’re inspired by the opportunities to innovate and break boundaries. We’re proud to play a part in protecting the world’s democracies. And we’re committed to putting sustainability at the centre of everything we do, opening up and protecting our planet. With over 16,000 employees across 32 manufacturing sites in 12 countries we serve over 90% of the world’s aircraft and engine manufacturers and achieved sales of £3.6bn in 2025. There are no limits to where you can take your career.

Job Summary

The Maintenance Technician is responsible for maintaining, troubleshooting, repairing, and improving production equipment and facility systems to ensure safe, reliable, and efficient operations. This position supports a wide variety of manufacturing equipment including CNC machining centers, heat treat equipment, chemical processing lines, robotic systems, utilities, and facility infrastructure.

The ideal candidate possesses strong mechanical and electrical troubleshooting skills, can diagnose equipment failures independently, and is committed to minimizing downtime through both preventive and corrective maintenance. Experience with aerospace manufacturing equipment and pyrometry is highly desirable.

Job Responsibilities

• Troubleshoot, repair, and maintain mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, and electromechanical equipment.
• Perform preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance on production equipment and facility systems.
• Diagnose machine failures using electrical schematics, mechanical drawings, manuals, and diagnostic software.
• Install, align, level, and commission new production equipment.
• Troubleshoot electrical systems up to 480 VAC, including motors, drives, contactors, relays, transformers, and control circuits.
• Maintain CNC machining centers, manual machines, robotic equipment, furnaces, ovens, compressors, HVAC systems, pumps, and other manufacturing equipment.
• Repair and replace bearings, ball screws, linear guides, gearboxes, couplings, belts, chains, and other mechanical components.
• Troubleshoot hydraulic and pneumatic systems including valves, cylinders, regulators, pumps, and compressors.
• Support facility utilities including compressed air, process gases, chilled water, wastewater treatment, and ventilation systems.
• Perform root cause analysis on equipment failures and implement corrective actions.
• Complete work orders, maintenance documentation, and equipment history in the CMMS.
• Assist with equipment upgrades, installations, continuous improvement projects, and machine relocations.
• Follow all environmental, safety, lockout/tagout (LOTO), and company procedures.
• Support production across multiple shifts as required.
• Perform maintenance on chemical processing equipment including pumps, motors, agitators, filtration systems, ventilation equipment, and associated mechanical and electrical systems.
• Safely perform maintenance activities in areas containing acids, caustics, solvents, and other industrial chemicals while following all PPE, hazardous material handling, and environmental requirements

Job Qualifications

Basic Qualifications:

• 4+ years of industrial maintenance experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Strong troubleshooting skills involving mechanical and electrical equipment.
• Experience working on 480 VAC industrial electrical systems.
• Experience troubleshooting:
  • Motor control circuits
  • Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs)
  • Servo systems
  • PLC-controlled equipment
• Experience reading electrical schematics and mechanical drawings.
• Experience repairing mechanical power transmission systems including:
  • Bearings
  • Ball screws
  • Linear rails
  • Gearboxes
  • Couplings
• Experience with hydraulic and pneumatic systems.
• Ability to safely use electrical test equipment including multimeters, clamp meters, and insulation testers.
• Ability to fabricate or modify simple machine components using manual shop equipment.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office and computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS).
• Ability to lift up to 100 pounds and work in confined spaces, elevated platforms, and manufacturing environments.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience maintaining aerospace manufacturing equipment.
• Experience with CNC machining centers (Fanuc, Siemens, Haas, GROB, DMU, etc.).
• Experience with industrial robots (Fanuc, Yaskawa, KUKA).
• Experience with heat treat equipment including furnaces and industrial ovens.
• Experience with process equipment including chemical processing lines, wastewater systems, pumps, and filtration.
• Basic PLC troubleshooting (Allen-Bradley, Siemens, Omron, Mitsubishi).
• Welding and fabrication experience.
• Machining experience using manual mills, lathes, grinders, or fabrication equipment.
• Certification or formal training in industrial maintenance, electrical technology, mechatronics, or a related field.
• Experience maintaining equipment in chemical processing, metal finishing, heat treatment, aerospace, or other industrial manufacturing environments.
• Experience working safely around industrial chemicals including acids, alkaline, cleaning solutions, and hazardous materials.
• Familiarity with chemical delivery systems, process pumps, ventilation systems, wastewater treatment equipment, and chemical safety procedures.
• Knowledge of OSHA hazardous chemical handling practices and Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) procedures.

Desired Competencies

• Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Sense of urgency when responding to production downtime.
• Excellent communication and teamwork.
• Strong mechanical aptitude and willingness to learn new equipment.
• Commitment to safety and continuous improvement

Compensation: $32.00 - $40.00 an hour

We’ll offer you fantastic challenges and amazing opportunities. This is your chance to be part of an organisation that has proven itself to be at the cutting edge of our industry; and is committed to pushing the boundaries even further. And with some of the best training on offer in the industry, who knows how far you can go?

A Great Place to work needs a Great Way of Working

Everyone is welcome to apply to GKN. We believe that we can only achieve our ambitions through a coming together of diverse minds who enjoy collaborating in an inspirational environment. Through our commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging and by living our five powerful principles we’ve created a culture where everyone feels welcome to contribute. It’s a culture that won us ‘The Best Workplace Culture Award’. By embracing and celebrating what makes us unique we encourage everyone to bring their full self to work.

We’re also committed to providing an accessible recruitment process, so if you require reasonable adjustments at any stage during our recruitment process please get in touch and let us know.

We are the place where human dreams, plus human endeavour, shape the future of aerospace innovation and technology. ​ ​