Electronics Process Engineer

Position Summary

We are looking for an experienced Electronics Engineer to support printed circuit board (PCB) and printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) manufacturing within the aerospace industry. This role owns Design for Manufacturing (DFM), Design for Assembly (DFA), and Design for Test (DFT) activities from early design review through production release, serving as the technical bridge between engineering, quality, and outsourced manufacturing partners. The ideal candidate combines deep hands-on knowledge of electronics assembly processes and soldering technologies with a working command of industry inspection and workmanship standards, and is comfortable both authoring documentation and driving hands-on manufacturing investigations on the shop floor.

Key Responsibilities

• Establish and execute DFM, DFA, and DFT activities across new and existing PCBA designs, partnering with design engineering during early-stage development to identify and resolve manufacturability, assembly, and testability risks before release to production.
• Review schematics, layouts, and bills of material against manufacturing capability and component/assembly requirements, providing design feedback and driving design-for-X change requests through to closure.
• Document and build the local knowledge set for PCB/PCBA manufacturing processes — including process standards, lessons learned, best practices, and failure modes — and keep it current as new processes, materials, and equipment are introduced.
• Act as a key technical resource for ongoing manufacturing process investigations, supporting root cause analysis and corrective/preventive action (CAPA) efforts for defects, yield excursions, and process non-conformances.
• Establish detailed manufacturing and build requirements — including process specifications, workmanship criteria, and inspection/test requirements — for each new outsourced PCBA program, and communicate these requirements to contract manufacturers.
• Support supplier qualification and ongoing supplier performance reviews for outsourced PCB/PCBA manufacturing, including process audits and first-article inspection support.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Design Engineering, Quality Engineering, Test Engineering, and Supply Chain to ensure manufacturing requirements are reflected in drawings, specifications, and purchase documentation.
• Support new product introduction (NPI) builds, including process validation, first-article inspection, and transition to full-rate production.

Required Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience in PCB and PCBA manufacturing processes, gained in an aerospace, defense, or other high-reliability electronics manufacturing environment.
• Strong knowledge of electronics component and assembly requirements, including component packaging types, land pattern design, and assembly tolerances.
• Strong knowledge of machines and processes related to SMT reflow soldering, hand soldering, and wave soldering, including reflow profile development and troubleshooting.
• Hands-on experience with inspection methods including 3D inspection, X-ray inspection, and Automated Optical Inspection (AOI), and the ability to interpret inspection data to drive process improvement.
• Working knowledge of IPC-A-610 and J-STD workmanship and acceptability standards, along with applicable MIL-SPEC requirements for high-reliability electronics assembly.
• Demonstrated abilities in Design for Manufacturing (DFM), Design for Assembly (DFA), and Design for Test (DFT), with a track record of translating design reviews into actionable manufacturing feedback.
• Strong analytical and root-cause problem-solving skills, with experience supporting manufacturing investigations and corrective action processes.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to document processes clearly and work directly with contract manufacturers and cross-functional engineering teams.