Senior Principal Laser Quality Engineer

A Day in Your Life at MKS:

As a Senior Quality Engineer at Newport, you will partner with design, manufacturing, and supply chain teams to lead qualification planning, validation strategy, and production readiness activities that support new product introduction. You will apply design for excellence principles and design of experiments to improve manufacturing processes, ensure robust PFMEA and control plans before production, drive root cause analysis and corrective and preventive action, and work with suppliers to resolve quality issues and improve incoming material quality. In this role, you will report to the Director, Quality and Reliability Engineering, Lasers.

Principal Responsibilities:

• Lead qualification planning, validation strategies, and production readiness metrics to support New Product Introduction (NPI).
• Ensure robust PFMEA and Control Plans are implemented prior to production ramp.
• Partner with design, manufacturing, and supply chain teams to meet laser product specifications and optical coating requirements.
• Apply Design for Excellence (DFx) principles and Design of Experiments (DoE) to optimize manufacturing processes.
• Lead root cause analysis and corrective/preventive actions (CAPA) for quality issues.
• Conduct process audits, monitor production failure metrics, and ensure compliance with ISO standards.
• Collaborate with suppliers to resolve quality issues and improve incoming material quality.
• Acts as a technical quality representative to strategic customers and works closely with internal and external suppliers to ensure laser components meet performance, reliability, and cost requirements
  
  

Required Skills:

• Bachelors degree in Optics, Physics, or Electrical Engineering or Similar. a M.S. or PhD is highly preferred
• 10 years of progressive quality engineering experience or similar.
• 7 years in laser, photonics, optoelectronics, or precision electro-mechanical manufacturing or similar.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills (8D, Fault Tree, Kepner-Tregoe, 5-Why).
• Experience with APQP, PPAP, FAI, FMEA, DMAIC, Gage R&R, DFx, DOE, and/or Six Sigma.
• Experience in ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems.
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Proven experience supporting NPI transfer into high-volume manufacturing.
• Reliability engineering experience.
• Proficiency in Minitab, MATLAB, Python, C , and Microsoft Copilot AI.
• Strong communication and cross-functional leadership skills.
  
  

In addition to the above responsibilities, the following are considered material job duties of the position:

• Ability to take and follow directions and instructions.
• Ability to interact with other employees, customers, suppliers, vendors, or the public, in a safe, professional, and respectful manner.
• Access to sensitive and confidential business systems and software, personally identifying information, the company’s financial information, and/or the ability to maintain physical security and safety.
• Because this position involves the above material job duties, trustworthiness, reliability, and good judgment also are material job duties.
  
  

MKS will consider qualified applicants with a criminal history pursuant to the California Fair Chance Act and the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers.

Compensation and Benefits:

Salary Pay Range: $175,000 – 220,000 qualifications, experience and training, operational and business needs and other considerations permitted by law. 

Bonus: This position is eligible for a discretionary annual bonus, in an amount to be determined by MKS [or as applicable].

Benefits: MKS offers a comprehensive benefits package, including health insurance coverage (medical, dental and vision), 401(k) with company match, life and disability insurance, 12 paid holidays, sick time, 15 paid vacation days, [6 weeks fully paid] parental leave, adoption assistance and tuition reimbursement [and for participation in any stock programs, signing bonus, etc.].