Process Engineer

Rocket EMS•San Jose, CA

About The Position

The Process Engineer supports the manufacture of IPC Class 3 printed circuit board assemblies for aerospace applications. The role develops, validates, and improves manufacturing processes to achieve consistent workmanship, reliable products, and efficient production. Working with Production, Quality, Engineering, and Program Management, the engineer resolves manufacturing issues, strengthens process controls, and ensures assemblies meet customer drawings, specifications, and applicable workmanship requirements. The position requires strong technical judgment, attention to detail, and an active presence on the production floor. The engineer supports daily production and establishes repeatable processes across applicable PCB assembly operations, including solder paste printing, SMT placement, reflow, through-hole assembly, selective and wave soldering, cleaning, and conformal coating. The role prepares builds for production, validates process setups and changes, develops process documentation, manages production tooling, investigates quality issues, trains operators, and supports new product introduction, design for manufacturability reviews, engineering changes, rework, audits, and continuous improvement. The position supports compliance with IPC J-STD-001, IPC-A-610 Class 3, customer requirements, and, when contractually required, the J-STD-001 Space/Military Addendum. Pay range: $100,000–$120,000 USD. Work may require access to export-controlled technical data or technology; candidates must be eligible under applicable U.S. export-control laws or for required government authorization. Any final employment offer may be conditioned on a background check consistent with applicable law.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing, Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent relevant experience.
Hands-on experience supporting printed circuit board assembly manufacturing, including SMT, reflow, through-hole, and selective or wave soldering.
Working knowledge of IPC J-STD-001 and IPC-A-610 Class 3 requirements.
Ability to interpret engineering drawings, assembly documentation, bills of materials, and customer specifications.
Strong troubleshooting and analytical skills, including root cause analysis, corrective action, and data-based process improvement.
Experience creating clear manufacturing instructions and maintaining controlled process documentation.
Strong communication skills and ability to work effectively with operators, technicians, engineers, and Quality personnel.
Ability to prioritize production needs while maintaining workmanship standards and required process controls.
Eligibility to access export-controlled technical data or technology under applicable U.S. export-control laws, or eligibility for any required government authorization.

Nice To Haves

Experience manufacturing aerospace, defense, spaceflight, or other high-reliability electronics.
Familiarity with AS9100 quality systems and customer-specific aerospace requirements.
IPC certification in J-STD-001 or IPC-A-610; experience with the Space/Military Addendum.
Experience with automated optical inspection, X-ray inspection, cleaning validation, conformal coating, statistical process control, or designed experiments.

Responsibilities

Troubleshoot equipment programming, process setups, tooling, manufacturing instructions, and production line stoppages to resolve issues and reduce downtime.
Establish and maintain repeatable processes for applicable solder paste printing, SMT placement, reflow, through-hole assembly, selective and wave soldering, cleaning, and conformal coating operations.
Develop processes that meet IPC J-STD-001, IPC-A-610 Class 3, and customer requirements, including the J-STD-001 Space/Military Addendum when contractually required.
Conduct manufacturing readiness reviews to verify drawings, bills of materials, programs, tooling, routings, and manufacturing process instructions are complete, accurate, and at the correct revision.
Establish documented operating parameters, develop and verify thermal profiles, support first article inspections, and confirm process readiness before production release.
Create and update manufacturing process instructions, setup sheets, process specifications, and work instructions.
Design, specify, qualify, and maintain stencils, solder pallets, fixtures, and other production tooling.
Analyze inspection, test, defect, and rework data; lead root cause investigations; and implement corrective actions with documented effectiveness checks.
Support material and serial number traceability, revision control, electrostatic discharge protection, foreign object debris prevention, moisture-sensitive component handling, and contamination controls.
Provide operators with technical guidance on approved methods, critical process parameters, workmanship expectations, and manufacturing instruction changes.
Support new product introduction, design for manufacturability reviews, engineering changes, failure analysis, and controlled rework in coordination with Quality.
Support continuous improvement and audits, improving yield, cycle time, and process capability while maintaining product reliability, documentation, and quality management system compliance.