Manufacturing Design Engineer (MDE) - Battery

Apple•Sunnyvale, CA

About The Position

The Apple Manufacturing Design Engineer (MDE) is accountable for leading the development and implementation of innovative manufacturing processes across Apple’s worldwide supply base. In this highly collaborative role, you will work closely with Apple Industrial Design, Product Design, and Manufacturing Design partners, as well as our worldwide suppliers. The MDE role is empowered to bring creativity to Apple’s manufacturing approach, enabling us to deliver our best work to as many customers as possible. You will be a part of collaborative environment contributing to the creation, evaluation, and implementation of end-to-end manufacturing solutions for Apple’s iPhone enclosures. You will collaborate closely with cross-functional stakeholders in Quality Engineering, Global Supply Management, Product Design, and Industrial Design in order to ensure our manufacturing solutions meet our product quality, cost, yield, capacity, schedule, and environmental goals.

Requirements

5+ years experience in mechanical product development, manufacturing engineering, tooling engineering, high precision fabrication, or similar roles
BS or higher in mechanical, manufacturing, industrial engineering, or related fields preferred.
Understanding core principles of Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing
Hands-on approach to engineering and problem-solving
A quick learner who approaches problems flexibly and proactively identifies solutions in the face of challenges
Strong ability to influence using clear and concise communication skills to make data driven manufacturing decisions
Applies innovative approach to problem solving by leveraging past experiences
A passion for manufacturing and engineering excellence.
Unwillingness to compromise on quality and customer satisfaction

Responsibilities

Evaluate product and industrial design goals to understand the dimensional, cosmetic, and functional priorities for the product
Collaborate with Global Supply Managers and Apple’s manufacturing suppliers to align on a manufacturing development strategy with clear goals, deliverables, and schedules
Identify and validate suitable fabrication equipment and processes to meet all Apple design and operational requirements
Develop and document processes including all parameters, consumables and secondary operation requirements to meet defined specifications
Conduct process optimization DOE’s, using data-driven and hands-on approaches together to find solutions to complex challenges
Communicate ongoing process development status to cross-functional teams and lead discussions to align design requirements with manufacturing capability
Willingness to travel internationally to support manufacturing partner sites and collaborate with in-region team members
Familiarity with a phase gate product development approach
Develop all CNC milling and turning processes. Scope appropriate CNC equipment to be used, develop CNC fixtures, implement touch probing, lead the reduction of cycle time, development of advanced cutters and coatings, High Speed Machining implementation, support the programming and optimization of all CNC-related activities at contract manufacturers worldwide. Own yield improvement actions and process change decisions based on statistical process control (SPC) data analysis.
Develop new processes in the area of blasting, tumbling, polishing, wet sanding, lapping, plating, anodizing, and PVD in response to cosmetic, functional, and reliability targets. Ensure that quality and yield requirements are met.
Develop all processes for glass scribe/break, grinding, lapping, polishing, chemical strengthening, decoration and functional coatings (including inks and other thin film deposition techniques). Ensure that quality and yield requirements are met.
Develop all assembly processes, incorporating welding, gluing/ adhesives, and mechanical-fit based processes. Lead qualification of equipment at suppliers, including detailed documentation of process parameters. Own yield improvement actions and process change decisions based on statistical process control (SPC) data analysis. Identify automation opportunities and justify automation projects based on automation line efficiency metrics.
Develop all paint processes to achieve cosmetic and surface durability requirements. Scope and specify paint equipment, environmental clean room requirements, evaluate and select most appropriate paints and painting parameters to ensure quality and yield requirements are met.