PCBA Manufacturing Engineer

Flex•Milpitas, CA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Flex is seeking a PCBA Manufacturing Engineer for its Milpitas, California campus. Reporting to the Director, Operations Engineering, this role supports the development, industrialization, and optimization of advanced PCBA manufacturing processes for next-generation AI, rack-scale computing, and data center applications. The engineer will work as part of a cross-functional team building and scaling complex printed circuit board assemblies. The position requires hands-on expertise across the SMT manufacturing process, including pick-and-place, reflow and wave soldering, process validation, and yield improvement. It also calls for understanding PCBA chemistry, mechanical interactions, manufacturing design considerations, and advanced packaging technologies, including large BGA components. The role aligns with Manufacturing Engineering responsibilities within Flex’s Production Engineering organization.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
3–5 years of hands-on PCBA manufacturing experience, with strong knowledge of the complete SMT process, including solder paste printing, pick-and-place, reflow soldering, wave soldering, AOI, SPI, X-ray inspection, and high-volume production process optimization.
Experience supporting complex PCBAs with large BGAs, high-density assemblies, and advanced packaging technologies, including troubleshooting voiding, head-in-pillow, bridging, warpage, insufficient solder, and BGA-related failures.
Strong understanding of PCBA materials, solder chemistry, thermal management, mechanical interactions, and reliability considerations affecting assembly performance and manufacturing yield.
Working knowledge of DFM, DFA, IPC standards, PFMEA, control plans, and manufacturing validation methodologies.
Experience supporting NPI programs from development through successful production ramp.
Experience supporting AI servers, accelerator cards, GPU-based platforms, rack-scale computing, or data center infrastructure products.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills and ability to collaborate cross-functionally in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

Responsibilities

Drive and optimize end-to-end PCBA manufacturing processes, including solder paste printing, pick-and-place, reflow, wave soldering, inspection, and final assembly.
Lead NPI builds and production-readiness activities, partnering with Design, Quality, Test, Supply Chain, and Operations teams to support manufacturability, yield, reliability, and scalable production.
Provide technical expertise for complex PCBAs featuring large BGA devices, including process development, thermal profiling, defect reduction, DFM/DFA reviews, and assembly optimization.
Troubleshoot manufacturing, process, and product issues through structured root cause analysis and implement corrective and preventive actions to improve quality and throughput.
Develop and maintain manufacturing documentation, including work instructions, process specifications, PFMEAs, control plans, validation reports, and process control strategies.
Analyze manufacturing data and lead continuous improvement initiatives focused on yield, cycle time, cost, equipment efficiency, and operational excellence.