Manufacturing Process Engineer

A1J Technologies LLC•San Jose, CA

11d•Onsite

About The Position

The Manufacturing Process Engineer is responsible for developing, implementing, and continuously improving manufacturing processes for complex, close-tolerance components from contract review through first article and production. The role develops complete manufacturing routings that define the sequence of operations, work centers, tooling, fixturing, materials, setup and run standards, inspection considerations, outside processing, and traceability requirements. The Process Engineer works cross-functionally with CNC Programming, Production, Quality, Supply Chain, and Estimating to ensure manufacturing processes are safe, capable, repeatable, cost-effective, and properly documented. The position supports a high-mix precision manufacturing environment that includes CNC turning and milling, grinding, lapping, welding, cleaning, and outside special processes.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Industrial Engineering, or related technical discipline; equivalent hands-on manufacturing experience may be considered.
5+ years of manufacturing/process engineering experience in precision machining or a comparable high-mix manufacturing environment.
Demonstrated experience developing manufacturing routings, process plans, and controlled manufacturing documentation.
Strong understanding of CNC machining, tooling, fixturing, setup practices, and manufacturing process development.
Ability to interpret engineering drawings, GD&T, CAD models, and technical specifications.
Working knowledge of CAM software and CNC manufacturing methods.
Experience supporting first article, inspection planning, root-cause analysis, and corrective action.
Strong problem-solving, technical communication, and cross-functional leadership skills.
Ability to spend significant time on the manufacturing floor supporting process development and production.

Nice To Haves

Experience in AS9100 / ISO 9001 aerospace, defense, semiconductor, medical, or other regulated precision-manufacturing environments.
Experience with multi-axis turning and 3-, 4-, and 5-axis milling.
Experience with grinding, lapping, welding, cleaning, heat treatment, plating/coating, or other special processes.
Familiarity with AS9102 First Article Inspection.
Experience with Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, DOE, 8D, A3, or structured problem-solving methods.
Fixture and tooling design experience using 3D CAD.
Familiarity with CMM/metrology and process capability analysis.
Experience supporting customer, regulatory, or third-party audits.

Responsibilities

Develop and maintain manufacturing routings for new and existing products, including operation sequence, work centers, setup/run standards, tooling, fixturing, materials, and outside processing.
Determine the appropriate manufacturing sequence for close-tolerance features while considering datum integrity, distortion, material condition, accessibility, and downstream operations.
Establish material requirements, blank sizes, material yield, and traceability controls.
Define appropriate handling, identification, protection, and material-flow requirements throughout manufacturing.
Maintain accurate ERP routing information to support scheduling, capacity planning, costing, and actual-versus-standard performance analysis.
Maintain process documentation and revision control consistent with drawing revisions, engineering changes, and approved process improvements.
Partner with CNC Programming to translate manufacturing-process requirements into executable machining strategies.
Support tooling, fixture, work holding, probing, and setup-method development.
Participate in process kickoff reviews and first article/prove-out activities for new or high-risk jobs.
Capture actual setup and cycle times and update manufacturing standards as appropriate.
Support standardization of tooling, setup practices, work instructions, and manufacturing methods across similar part families.
Provide technical support to Production in resolving machining and process-related issues.
Partner with Quality to ensure inspection planning aligns with the actual manufacturing sequence.
Identify process-critical inspection points, irreversible operations, inaccessible features, and high-risk characteristics requiring in-process verification.
Support interpretation of drawings, specifications, GD&T, tolerance stacks, and key/critical characteristics from a manufacturing perspective.
Provide manufacturing-process information required for First Article Inspection and AS9102 documentation.
Support development and analysis of process capability (Cp, Cpk, Ppk) for critical characteristics.
Provide process expertise during nonconformance investigations, root-cause analysis, and corrective actions.
Ensure approved process changes are communicated to Quality for evaluation of inspection-plan impact.
Analyze actual versus standard setup/run hours, scrap, rework, yield, and process performance.
Lead projects to reduce setup time, cycle time, scrap, rework, and manufacturing cost.
Identify and implement process improvements that increase throughput, capability, and repeatability.
Support make-versus-buy decisions based on capability, capacity, cost, and risk.
Provide manufacturing input to quoting and contract review, including process feasibility, estimated hours, tooling/fixture requirements, NRE, capacity, and technical risk.
Support capital-equipment justification through capacity analysis, manufacturing requirements, and return-on-investment evaluation.
Capture lessons learned and incorporate improvements into standardized manufacturing processes.