Senior Process Engineer

Firestorm•San Diego, CA

18d•Onsite

About The Position

Firestorm is hiring a Senior Process Engineer for cable and harness manufacturing. The role owns manufacturing processes from initial prototypes through early production and supplier rate production. The engineer develops and proves processes in-house during NPI, including wire preparation, crimping, termination, shield termination, backshells, overmolding, and potting, then creates and transfers the detailed manufacturing package to harness suppliers. RF assemblies are supplier-built; this role owns process oversight and reviews RF test criteria with engineering rather than building RF assemblies or tests.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Industrial, or Electrical Engineering, or an equivalent degree; alternatively, 10 or more years of progressive relevant experience in lieu of a degree.
Must qualify as a U.S. Person under 22 CFR § 120.62 because of ITAR regulations, including U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, or protected individuals with asylee or refugee status.
At least 5 years of manufacturing or process engineering experience, with hands-on expertise in cable, harness, or electromechanical assembly.
Experience with crimping and termination processes and rugged connector families, including circular MIL-spec, micro-D, D-sub, and RF/coax, as well as shield and braid termination.
Working knowledge of IPC/WHMA-A-620 and J-STD-001, with the ability to apply and defend acceptance criteria on the production floor.
Experience taking a product from prototype into production.
Harness test development for non-RF assemblies, including continuity and hipot systems, fixture and adapter design, and test-program creation.
Demonstrated root-cause and corrective-action capability using structured problem solving, with preventive action rather than containment alone.
Fluency with schematics, wire lists, interconnect diagrams, and mechanical drawings, including GD&T.
Practical command of lean principles, including standard work, line balancing, and cell layout.
Familiarity with PLM, ERP, and MES systems and the handoffs between them.
Ability to work between engineering and production, maintain a technical position with engineers, and remain credible with technicians.

Nice To Haves

Experience transferring a process to an external supplier, including data-package development, process qualification, and first article at the supplier site.
Ownership of a product through a full production ramp, including a personally developed capacity model, line layout, or rate-readiness plan.
Active Secret clearance.
Hands-on RF cable assembly or RF test experience, or working knowledge of RF test methods sufficient to evaluate supplier data.
Mixed-commodity background in cable and mechanical or electronics assembly.
UAV, experimental aircraft, or low-volume/high-mix aerospace experience, ideally at a company moving from prototype to rate production.
Experience with automated wire-processing equipment and harness design tools with 3D-to-formboard flattening.
Overmolding, potting, and environmental-sealing process development experience.
A continuous-improvement project with quantified results, or formal Lean or Six Sigma training.
Experience in an AS9100 environment, with FAI/AS9102 and supplier quality.
IPC/WHMA-A-620 CIS or CIT certification.
CAD proficiency sufficient to model and detail tooling.

Responsibilities

Develop cable and harness manufacturing processes for prototype and early production, including wire preparation, crimping, termination, shield and braid termination, backshells and strain relief, overmolding and potting, breakout, and routing.
Author and maintain manufacturing documentation, including work instructions, formboard layouts, wire lists, MBOMs, routings, and travelers.
Establish and maintain process controls for crimp height and pull-test sampling, tool verification and calibration, cure and cycle parameters, and ESD.
Design, source, build, and prove out manufacturing tooling and fixtures, including formboards, crimp tooling and positioners, hold-downs, pull-test setups, and overmold tooling.
Own non-RF harness electrical testing, including test programs, adapter cables, fixtures, and failure disposition with engineering.
Review RF cable assembly test criteria with engineering, communicate requirements to suppliers, and evaluate incoming test data and certificates of conformance against specifications.
Build manufacturing data packages for source transfer and own transition plans, including timelines, tooling duplication or shipment, operator training, dual-source strategy, and in-house build closeout criteria.
Lead supplier process qualification, first articles, on-site audits, and build-readiness reviews; serve as the technical contact for supplier escapes, deviations, and changes.
Provide actionable design-for-manufacturing and design-for-test feedback to electrical design on connector selection, wire and jacket callouts, service loops, breakout geometry, labeling, and harness segmentation.
Perform capacity analysis, takt and line balancing, and floor layout for in-house prototype and pilot cells, and validate supplier capacity against rate demand.
Lead root-cause and corrective action for process escapes and field returns, verify effectiveness, improve yield and cycle time, reduce scrap and rework, and support material review board disposition.
Train technicians in documented methods, confirm their ability to perform them, and improve methods when they are not effective.
Uphold 5S, foreign-object-debris and ESD controls, and shop safety, and hold others to the same standards.
Perform other duties as directed.

Benefits

Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans.
401(k) Retirement Savings Plan.
Equity grants for new hires.
Unlimited PTO.
Company holidays, including holiday hiatuses in July and December.
Parental leave.
Lifestyle Spending Account.
FSA, DCFSA, and HSA.
Hospital indemnity, critical illness, and accident insurance.
Basic life/AD&D and short- and long-term disability insurance, 100% covered by Firestorm, with options to purchase additional life insurance.
Free 24/7 mental health resources, including therapy.
Free legal and financial support.
Relocation assistance may be included in the offer package where appropriate.
Opportunities for career growth.