Manufacturing Engineer – Process & Materials

Microwave Power Products (MPP)•Palo Alto, CA

8d•$80,000 - $110,000•Onsite

About The Position

We’re looking for a hands-on Manufacturing Engineer with approximately 3+ years of experience who enjoys solving problems where materials, processes, and production meet. This role puts you directly on the production floor, troubleshooting real manufacturing problems, improving processes, and working with production and engineering teams to make specialized products better. At Microwave Power Products (MPP), you’ll work with metals, alloys, ceramics, polymers, joining processes, coatings, machining, and mechanical assemblies while partnering directly with production teams to understand why problems occur and how to prevent them. This is not a role where you’ll spend most of your time behind a desk. Approximately 75% of the role supports production and 25% focuses on process improvement and engineering projects. This is a hands-on manufacturing engineering role supporting production and process improvement. You’ll work directly with operators, technicians, and engineers to troubleshoot problems, improve processes, and implement practical solutions. MPP manufactures highly specialized electronic components and subsystems using metals, alloys, ceramics, polymers, and other engineered materials, with processes including brazing, soldering, welding, coatings, machining, and precision mechanical assembly. When a production problem occurs, you'll be expected to go beyond identifying that something failed. You'll help determine: What happened? Why did it happen? Was the cause related to the material, process, tooling, fixture, documentation, equipment, or another factor? What corrective action will prevent it from happening again? How do we validate and sustain the improvement? You'll then work with the appropriate teams to implement and document the solution. This is an excellent role for a Manufacturing, Materials, or Mechanical Engineer who wants broad exposure to specialized manufacturing while developing deeper expertise in process engineering and materials.

Requirements

Early-career engineer with a B.S. in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Materials, Industrial Engineering, or a related field
Relevant hands-on experience through internships, school projects, research, manufacturing, robotics, or similar technical work
Strong mechanical aptitude and demonstrated ability to troubleshoot and solve technical problems
Interest in manufacturing processes, materials, and continuous improvement
Approximately 3+ years of applicable manufacturing, process, materials, or mechanical engineering experience
Hands-on experience supporting production, troubleshooting manufacturing issues, or improving processes
Experience with root cause analysis, process characterization, corrective action, manufacturing documentation, or related activities
Ability to independently manage projects and work cross-functionally with Production, Engineering, Quality, and suppliers

Nice To Haves

Experience with brazing, soldering, welding, coatings, machining, metallurgy, failure analysis, or other specialized manufacturing processes is highly beneficial.
Materials engineering or metallurgy
Manufacturing/process engineering
Failure analysis
Brazing or soldering
Welding
Coatings
Machining
Joining or finishing processes
Process characterization and qualification
Tooling and fixture design
Manufacturing process documentation
Corrective action / root cause analysis
Yield or productivity improvement

Responsibilities

Provide hands-on manufacturing engineering support directly on the production floor across MPP's business units
Troubleshoot manufacturing defects, rejects, process variation, and production issues involving materials, processes, tooling, fixtures, documentation, training, personnel, and mechanical assemblies
Investigate material and process deficiencies using failure analysis, materials evaluation, metallurgy, chemical analysis techniques, process controls, process mapping, and other appropriate engineering methods
Support and improve specialized manufacturing processes including brazing, soldering, welding, coatings, machining, and related joining and finishing processes
Evaluate metals, alloys, ceramics, polymers, and other engineering materials and help determine how material characteristics affect manufacturing and product performance
Perform root cause analysis and implement corrective actions that improve quality, yield, reliability, and process consistency
Characterize, standardize, and improve manufacturing processes to increase capability, efficiency, and productivity
Support troubleshooting and improvement of tooling, fixtures, equipment, and mechanical assemblies
Develop, update, and improve manufacturing procedures, work instructions, drawings, specifications, and other technical documentation
Support operator training, process qualification, and certification activities
Conduct or support process audits and address identified process deficiencies
Work with Quality to investigate nonconformances, disposition rejects, and implement corrective actions
Partner with Product Engineering to resolve product and manufacturing issues and improve manufacturability
Lead or contribute to yield, productivity, quality, and process improvement projects
Collaborate with Purchasing and suppliers to investigate and resolve material, component, and process-related issues
Analyze manufacturing and process data to identify trends, recurring problems, and opportunities for improvement
Manage assigned engineering projects from problem definition through implementation, validation, and follow-up
Support other related manufacturing engineering activities as assigned