MOBILE, AL—Airbus is advertising two new professional positions for its assembly plant under construction here. Specifically, the company is looking for an avionics installation station coordinator and a mechanical installation station coordinator.

CAMBRIDGE, MA—MIT researchers have developed a lightweight structure whose tiny blocks can be snapped together much like the bricks of a child’s construction toy. The new material could revolutionize the assembly of airplanes, spacecraft, and even larger structures, such as dikes and levees.

SEATTLE—At a secret facility in Anacortes, WA, a small group of Boeing engineers will begin testing advanced automation methods for building the soon-to-be-launched 777X jet. The project promises to dramatically change how the plane’s metal hull is built.

JACKSONVILLE, FL—Aveo Engineering, which makes LED lighting for aircraft, is investing $7.5 million to build a new assembly plant in Flagler County, FL. The plant is expected to employ 300 people.

SEATTLE—FAA is proposing a $2.75 million civil penalty against Boeing Co.’s commercial airplanes unit for allegedly “failing to maintain its quality control system in accordance with approved FAA procedures.” In a statement, FAA said that in September 2008, “Boeing discovered that it had been installing nonconforming fasteners on its model 777 airplanes.”

YPSILANTI TOWNSHIP, MI—The factory where Rosie the Riveter showed that a woman could do a “man’s work” by building World War II-era bombers, will be demolished if money can’t be found to save it.

WASHINGTON—New orders for big-ticket U.S.-manufactured goods rose 4.2 percent in June, led by demand for aircraft. Orders for durable goods rose to $244.5 billion, an increase of $9.9 billion from May, the Commerce Department said. Analysts had predicted a much smaller 1.8 percent increase on average.

NEW YORK—The domestic economic outlook among U.S. manufacturers is at its highest level in five quarters, according to the PWC Manufacturing Barometer survey. The majority of manufacturing executives surveyed expect revenue growth in 2013.

WICHITA, KS—Triumph Aerospace Systemswill invest more than $2 million to expand its assembly plant here, creating 100 new jobs.

CHICAGO—Boeing is urging its suppliers to provide more visibility into their inner workings and to lower costs by 15 percent.