Director of Engineering
About The Position
The Director of Engineering oversees process and manufacturing engineering in a high-mix, high-reliability PCBA manufacturing environment producing Class 3 aerospace and mission-critical assemblies. The role leads PCBA manufacturing engineering, process engineering, NPI, DFM/DFX, sustaining engineering, and automation and continuous-improvement initiatives. The Director ensures engineering processes comply with IPC, J-STD, AS9100, and aerospace customer addendums while optimizing manufacturability, quality, cost, and throughput. The Director leads and develops a multidisciplinary engineering team and drives engineering strategy aligned with company objectives. This position serves as the technical authority for specified IPC standards and aerospace process controls, owns company-wide engineering initiatives, and ensures process qualification and documentation meet applicable standards and customer requirements. The role leads NPI activities, including design reviews, tooling and stencil strategy, prototype builds, documentation, and engineering change control. It also directs lean and continuous-improvement programs, process monitoring, SPC, and use of Industry 4.0 tools. The Director collaborates with production, quality, program management, supply chain, SMT teams, and external suppliers, and provides engineering support during audits, FAIs, PFMEAs, and technical reviews. The 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.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial Engineering, or a related field.
- 10–15+ years in PCBA manufacturing engineering.
- At least 10+ years in a leadership role.
- Deep knowledge of IPC-J-STD-001 Class 3 and Space/Military Addendums.
- Deep knowledge of IPC-A-610 Class 3.
- Deep knowledge of AS9100D.
- Deep knowledge of IPC-7351, IPC-7711/7721, and IPC-2221.
- Experience with aerospace, defense, medical, or other high-reliability electronics.
- Strong background in SMT (printing, placement, reflow), AOI/AXI, DFM/DFX, rework, chemical wash, polymerics, and test strategies.
- Excellent leadership, communication, and technical decision-making abilities.
- Must be eligible to access export-controlled technical data or technology under applicable U.S. export-control laws, or be eligible for any required government authorization.
Nice To Haves
- Master’s degree preferred.
Responsibilities
- Lead and develop a multidisciplinary engineering team covering SMT process, manufacturing, NPI, and automation.
- Drive engineering strategy aligned with company objectives for quality, cost, yield, and delivery.
- Serve as technical authority for IPC-J-STD-001 Class 3, IPC-A-610 Class 3, IPC-7711/7721, and aerospace process controls.
- Own engineering initiatives across PCBA manufacturing functional areas, including build readiness reviews and standardization.
- Ensure process qualification and documentation align with J-STD-001 Space & Military Addendum and applicable aerospace customer requirements.
- Establish and maintain process windows, control plans, PFMEAs, and validation reports.
- Lead DFM/DFX reviews, tooling design, stencil strategy, and prototype builds.
- Oversee creation of travelers, BOM validation, build instructions, and work instructions in compliance with AS9100.
- Manage engineering change control (ECOs), configuration management, and revision control.
- Lead LEAN and continuous-improvement programs focused on waste reduction, defect elimination, and throughput improvement.
- Collaborate with Quality Engineering on defects, root cause investigations, and MRB activities.
- Implement process monitoring, SPC, and Industry 4.0 tools.
- Work closely with Production, Quality, Program Management, Supply Chain, and SMT departments.
- Provide engineering support during customer audits, FAIs, PFMEAs, and technical reviews.
- Partner with external suppliers on polymerics, tooling, fixtures, materials, and new process technologies.
Stand Out From the Crowd
Upload your resume and get instant feedback on how well it matches this job.
What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
