To see how the new spate of deals with Chinese tech companies are producing jobs in the U.S., look no further than GE Aviation’s engineering hub in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It’s the site of the first round of major work generated from the joint venture GE launched with China’s AVIC to develop next generation avionics
In the video below, some of the team members who were newly hired for this project explain their work on the technologies, which comprise the central information system of an airliner.
The approximately 150-person team, which will soon be growing even larger in 2012, is currently working on major avionics components of the C919 — China’s new narrow body commercial jetliner that is currently in development (GE’s also making the engines that will power that plane).
The early phase of the program involves defining the technical requirements – such as how the aircraft should operate, look, and feel – with that eventually transitioning into design and creation of hardware and software. .
As Lorraine Bolsinger, president and CEO for GE’s Aviation Systems business, said when the deal was first announced, “With 9 percent traffic growth, and a rising middle class which is largely underserved, China is the world’s fastest growing aviation market and we need to ensure that GE and the United States is part of this growth.”
