Process Engineer – PCB Assembly

About the Role

As a Process Engineer at Rocket EMS, you will develop, optimize, and sustain the production processes used to assemble printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs). Your responsibilities will span SMT, through-hole assembly, soldering, cleaning, inspection support, conformal coating, and mechanical assembly.

This hands-on role spends a significant portion of the workday on the production floor, working directly with operators, leads, technicians, and supervisors to resolve process issues and improve assembly methods. You will focus on stable process parameters, clear work instructions, defect prevention, and consistent production performance.

You’ll partner with Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, Test Engineering, and Maintenance to implement manufacturing requirements, validate process changes, and ensure boards move reliably through production.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary engineering resource for daily production process issues, responding to assembly problems, process variation, and production interruptions.

• Develop, qualify, and sustain processes for solder paste printing, component placement, reflow, through-hole insertion, selective and wave soldering, hand soldering, cleaning, conformal coating, and mechanical assembly within assigned areas.

• Establish, document, and maintain equipment programs, soldering profiles, cleaning parameters, coating and curing settings, and other critical process limits.

• Troubleshoot defects such as solder bridging, insufficient solder, component misalignment, poor wetting, contamination, coating adhesion problems, and assembly damage.

• Create and maintain manufacturing process instructions (MPIs), equipment setup instructions, visual aids, and standard work that translate approved product requirements into clear operator tasks.

• Review assembly drawings, BOMs, engineering changes, and customer requirements to ensure they are correctly implemented at the workstation.

• Conduct controlled process trials and validation activities; document results and implement changes through the required approval process.

• Develop and qualify process tooling and assembly aids, including stencils, solder pallets, board supports, masking fixtures, and workstation fixtures.

• Analyze first-pass yield, defects, rework, scrap, cycle times, and process-related downtime to identify causes and verify improvements.

• Lead process-related root cause investigations with Quality and Test Engineering, connecting inspection and test failures to upstream assembly conditions.

• Develop and maintain process-level PFMEAs, control plans, parameter checks, and reaction plans with Quality Engineering.

• Support NPI and first-article builds by preparing equipment, proving assembly methods, identifying process risks, and documenting lessons learned.

• Train operators, leads, and technicians on assembly methods, equipment setup, process controls, and defect prevention.

• Improve workstation layout, process sequencing within assigned operations, changeover methods, and line balance to reduce variation and wasted motion.

• Coordinate with Maintenance and equipment vendors to distinguish process issues from equipment failures and support equipment qualification and maintenance planning.

• Escalate design limitations, conflicting requirements, and issues requiring broader manufacturing changes to Manufacturing Engineering.

• Support audits and maintain compliance with applicable safety, ESD, chemical handling, environmental, and customer requirements.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related field preferred.

• Equivalent hands-on electronics manufacturing experience considered.

Experience

• 3 years of process or manufacturing engineering experience in PCBA or electronics manufacturing.

• Hands-on experience developing and troubleshooting SMT, through-hole, soldering, cleaning, coating, or mechanical assembly processes.

• Experience establishing equipment settings, qualifying processes, and resolving recurring manufacturing defects.

• Experience creating work instructions and training production personnel.

• Working knowledge of J-STD-001 soldering requirements and IPC-A-610 acceptance criteria for Class 2 and Class 3 assemblies, as applicable to customer requirements.

• Experience with conformal coating materials, application methods, cleanliness, and curing preferred.

• Experience in high-reliability electronics manufacturing, including aerospace or defense applications, preferred.

Skills

• Strong practical troubleshooting, root cause analysis, and corrective action skills.

• Ability to interpret assembly drawings, BOMs, schematics, customer specifications, and equipment documentation.

• Ability to establish process limits, validate changes, and sustain repeatable results.

• Working knowledge of statistical process control (SPC), design of experiments (DOE), PFMEA, and Lean manufacturing.

• Familiarity with equipment programming, thermal profiling, inspection data, and process measurement tools.

• Strong communication, documentation, and operator training skills.

• Ability to prioritize urgent production needs while completing sustained process improvements.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and manufacturing documentation systems; ERP/MES experience preferred.

Benefits

• 401(k) with company match

• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance

• Paid time off

• Career growth opportunities in high-reliability electronics manufacturing

Schedule

• 8-hour shift, Monday–Friday

• Overtime and weekends as needed

ITAR/EAR Compliance: Due to the nature of the work performed at Rocket EMS, this position may require access to export-controlled technical data or technology. The successful candidate must be eligible to access such information under applicable U.S. export-control laws or be eligible for any required government authorization.

Rocket EMS will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the California Fair Chance Act. Candidates are not required to disclose criminal history or participate in a background check unless and until a conditional offer of employment has been made. Any final offer of employment may be conditioned on completion of a background check, consistent with applicable law.
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