Director of Engineering

Rocket EMS • Carson City, NV

4d

About The Position

The Director of Engineering oversees process and manufacturing engineering functions 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, new product introduction (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 a multidisciplinary engineering team and drives engineering strategy aligned with company objectives. This role serves as the technical authority for relevant Class 3 IPC standards and aerospace process controls, oversees engineering initiatives and process qualification, and leads product introduction, configuration management, and continuous improvement. The position works cross-functionally with production, quality, program management, supply chain, and SMT teams, and supports customer audits, first article inspections, PFMEAs, and technical reviews.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial Engineering, or a related field.
• 10–15+ years in PCBA manufacturing engineering, with at least 10+ years in a leadership role.
• Deep knowledge of IPC-J-STD-001 Class 3 and Space/Military Addendums, IPC-A-610 Class 3, AS9100D, IPC-7351, IPC-7711/7721, and IPC-2221.
• Experience with aerospace, defense, medical, or other high-reliability electronics.
• Strong background in SMT printing, placement, and 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 eligible for required government authorization.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree.

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 the 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 the 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, 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director