Lead Manufacturing Engineer, DFMA - Joining

Mach Industries • Huntington Beach, CA

19h

About The Position

Mach Industries is hiring a Lead Manufacturing Engineer focused on Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) and joining processes. The role is the company’s technical lead for vehicle joining methods, including bolting, riveting, bonding, and hybrid approaches. It owns the joining design guide, preferred fastener and adhesive standards, and torque tooling and adhesive-dispensing standards in the prototype factory. The engineer selects, purchases, deploys, calibrates, and maintains tools, and establishes processes that record and verify joint quality.

This hands-on technical leadership role includes direct reports and close collaboration with Design Engineering, Vehicle Assembly Manufacturing Engineering, Prototype Factory operations, Quality, Supply Chain, and Production to support production ramp goals across Mach’s factories. It leads research and development of joining materials, hardware, and processes, from experiments and test articles through qualification and production release.

The position also shapes designs early, leads DFMA reviews and value engineering, develops trade-study and cost models, and establishes process specifications and qualification and acceptance criteria. The posting lists the level as Senior Engineer and gives a base salary range of $140,000–$180,000 USD. Applicants must meet U.S. export-control eligibility requirements or be eligible to obtain required authorizations.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Materials, or Manufacturing Engineering, or equivalent experience.
• At least 7 years of hands-on experience in fastener engineering, adhesive bonding, or joining process engineering, including taking hardware from design into production at rate in automotive, aerospace, defense, or consumer electronics.
• Deep knowledge of bolted-joint analysis, such as VDI 2230, and bonding science, including surface preparation, cure kinetics, and failure modes.
• Hands-on experience selecting, specifying, and deploying torque tooling, including DC electric nutrunners, pulse tools, transducerized wrenches, tool controllers, and torque strategies.
• Hands-on joint testing, such as ASTM D1002 lap-shear and peel testing, and failure analysis.
• Experience with tool capability studies and calibration.
• Track record of writing design standards, design guides, or process specifications.
• Strong manufacturing and industrial engineering fundamentals, including cycle-time analysis, OEE, process capability (Cp/Cpk), gauge R&R, DOE, error proofing, ergonomics, and ROI.
• Working knowledge of GD&T (ASME Y14.5), tolerance stack-ups, and DVA.
• Proficiency in 3D CAD such as NX, CATIA, SolidWorks, or similar.
• Availability to work extended hours and weekends as needed.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident, qualifying refugee or asylee, or eligible to obtain required U.S. Department of State authorizations for export-controlled work.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s or Ph.D. in Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.
• Experience with major torque-tool platforms such as Atlas Copco, Desoutter, Cleco, or Stanley, and connecting tool data to an MES.
• Knowledge of torque-tool standards such as ISO 6789 and ISO 5393.
• Experience setting up tooling in a new prototype or production factory, including owning the equipment budget.
• Experience with aerospace fastener standards such as NAS, NASM, or MS.
• Experience with automotive high-volume joining, including self-piercing rivets, flow-drill screws, or structural adhesives.
• Nondestructive inspection (NDI) of bonded joints.
• Formal DFMA methods such as Boothroyd Dewhurst and should-cost modeling.
• Experience leading DFMEAs and PFMEAs.
• Patents, publications, or processes developed and put into production.
• Experience establishing a lab, test capability, or production line at a fast-moving company.
• Experience in an AS9100 or defense production environment.
• Lean or Six Sigma certification.

Responsibilities

• Write, publish, maintain, and train engineers on Mach’s Joining DFMA guide, including design rules, preferred fasteners and adhesives, standard joint features and tolerances, examples, and review checklists.
• Own preferred fastener and adhesive lists, reduce unique part numbers, and drive commonality across programs.
• Define joint design rules for fasteners, inserts, locking methods, bondlines, and surface preparation.
• Set standards for automated fastening and adhesive dispensing, including monitoring, feed systems, bead geometry, and in-process inspection.
• Define DFMA design-gate sign-off criteria, ensure programs meet them, and track metrics such as part count, unique fastener count, assembly time, first-pass yield, and cost.
• Own prototype-factory torque tooling procurement, specifications, vendor selection, quotes, lead times, and budget.
• Deploy torque tools on the factory floor, configure tool programs and torque strategies, and connect tool controllers to the MES so results are recorded.
• Implement torque mistake-proofing at stations, including socket selectors, fastener-count checks, and interlocks.
• Run torque-tool calibration and maintenance, verify tool capability on real joints, and set residual torque audit checks with Quality.
• Review vehicle architecture and material choices early, conduct DFMA studies at part, assembly, and system levels, and give design teams data-backed feedback.
• Drive content reduction, simpler assembly, build-in-quality, suitable tolerances, and joints amenable to automation.
• Lead value engineering on released designs and challenge assumptions to reduce cost.
• Establish decision rules and data, cost models, and criteria for adhesive, mechanical, and hybrid joining trade studies.
• Build should-cost, cycle-time, and rate models showing the cost, capital, schedule, and quality effects of joining choices.
• Set and run a joining R&D roadmap; plan and conduct designed experiments; build and test coupons and test articles; analyze results; and publish findings.
• Release proven processes to production, write process specifications, and define qualification and acceptance criteria.
• Lead and develop direct reports as part of a hands-on technical leadership role.
• Work with Design Engineering, Vehicle Assembly ME, Prototype Factory operations, Quality, Supply Chain, and Production toward production ramp goals.

Benefits

• Competitive salaries.
• Performance-based incentives tied to individual and company performance.
• Stock options or equity participation; highly competitive equity grants are included in most offers.
• Healthcare, dental, and vision plans.
• Retirement savings and retirement plans.
• Paid time off.
• Funds for continuing education, training, and career growth.
• Professional development opportunities.

What This Job Offers

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