Manufacturing Design Engineer (MDE), Brittles

Apple•Austin, TX

About The Position

The Apple Manufacturing Design Engineer (MDE) drives the development of key mechanical manufacturing processes across Apple’s worldwide supply base. This highly visible, hands-on role serves as a technical expert on the Manufacturing Design Team and works frequently with Apple Industrial Design, Product Design, manufacturing design partners, and suppliers worldwide. The MDE develops end-to-end manufacturing and process solutions for key design features, including process capability, equipment and consumables, process parameters, setup and qualification, equipment selection or design, automation, and strategic research and development. The role includes developing and documenting processes, establishing supply-chain requirements, supporting manufacturing-site development and production ramps, resolving engineering issues, and using data and statistical methods to guide process decisions. The position covers CNC machining, surface finishing, glass processing, assembly, and painting. The engineer develops and qualifies processes and equipment, meets quality and yield requirements, defines part tolerances and specifications through demonstrated process capability, and drives yield improvement and process changes. The role requires 25% domestic and international travel.

Requirements

At least 3 years of full-time mechanical manufacturing experience.
BS, MS, or PhD in mechanical, manufacturing, or industrial engineering.
Ability to demonstrate hands-on mechanical ability.
Excellent written and verbal interpersonal skills.
Ability to define engineering tasks to meet project objectives and work as a self-starter.
Ability to quickly learn about new processes with very little information provided.
Ability to travel 25% domestically and internationally.

Nice To Haves

Experience with highly cosmetic parts.
Experience in a manufacturing environment for consumer electronics or consumer plastic or sheet-metal products.

Responsibilities

Define best-in-class manufacturing processes that meet Apple design and operational requirements.
Develop and document processes, including parameters, consumables, and secondary-operation requirements, to meet specifications.
Work with Global Supply Managers to define and establish supply-chain requirements using selected equipment and manufacturing suppliers.
Provide leadership at manufacturing sites during development and product production ramp, and drive engineering issues to resolution.
Use data to guide process decisions, including basic data analysis, design of experiments (DOEs), and statistical process control (SPC).
Identify, research, develop, and qualify equipment manufacturers and suppliers.
Define part tolerances and specifications by demonstrating process capability to Product Designers and Industrial Designers.
Develop CNC milling and turning processes; scope appropriate equipment, develop fixtures, implement touch probing, reduce cycle time, develop advanced cutters and coatings, implement High Speed Machining, and support programming and optimization at contract manufacturers worldwide.
Own CNC yield-improvement actions and process-change decisions based on SPC data analysis.
Develop surface-finishing processes, including blasting, tumbling, polishing, wet sanding, lapping, anodizing, and PVD, and ensure quality and yield requirements are met.
Develop glass-processing methods for scribe and break, grinding, lapping, polishing, chemical strengthening, decoration, and functional coatings, and ensure quality and yield requirements are met.
Develop assembly processes involving welding, gluing and adhesives, and mechanical-fit methods.
Support supplier equipment qualification, including detailed documentation of process parameters.
Own assembly yield-improvement actions and process-change decisions based on SPC data analysis.
Identify automation opportunities and justify automation projects using automation-line-efficiency metrics.
Develop paint processes to achieve cosmetic and surface-durability requirements; scope and specify paint equipment and clean-room requirements, and evaluate and select paints and painting parameters to meet quality and yield requirements.