Process Engineer - PCBA

About the Role

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary engineering resource for daily production process issues, responding to assembly problems, process variation, and production interruptions.
• Develop, qualify, and sustain processes for solder paste printing, component placement, reflow, through-hole insertion, selective and wave soldering, hand soldering, cleaning, conformal coating, and mechanical assembly within assigned areas.
• Establish, document, and maintain equipment programs, soldering profiles, cleaning parameters, coating and curing settings, and other critical process limits.
• Troubleshoot defects such as solder bridging, insufficient solder, component misalignment, poor wetting, contamination, coating adhesion problems, and assembly damage.
• Create and maintain manufacturing process instructions (MPIs), equipment setup instructions, visual aids, and standard work that translate approved product requirements into clear operator tasks.
• Review assembly drawings, BOMs, engineering changes, and customer requirements to ensure they are correctly implemented at the workstation.
• Conduct controlled process trials and validation activities; document results and implement changes through the required approval process.
• Develop and qualify process tooling and assembly aids, including stencils, solder pallets, board supports, masking fixtures, and workstation fixtures.
• Analyze first-pass yield, defects, rework, scrap, cycle times, and process-related downtime to identify causes and verify improvements.
• Lead process-related root cause investigations with Quality and Test Engineering, connecting inspection and test failures to upstream assembly conditions.
• Develop and maintain process-level PFMEAs, control plans, parameter checks, and reaction plans with Quality Engineering.
• Support NPI and first-article builds by preparing equipment, proving assembly methods, identifying process risks, and documenting lessons learned.
• Train operators, leads, and technicians on assembly methods, equipment setup, process controls, and defect prevention.
• Improve workstation layout, process sequencing within assigned operations, changeover methods, and line balance to reduce variation and wasted motion.
• Coordinate with Maintenance and equipment vendors to distinguish process issues from equipment failures and support equipment qualification and maintenance planning.
• Escalate design limitations, conflicting requirements, and issues requiring broader manufacturing changes to Manufacturing Engineering.
• Support audits and maintain compliance with applicable safety, ESD, chemical handling, environmental, and customer requirements.

Qualifications

• Education
• Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related field preferred.
• Equivalent hands-on electronics manufacturing experience considered.
• 3+ years of process or manufacturing engineering experience in PCBA or electronics manufacturing.
• Hands-on experience developing and troubleshooting SMT, through-hole, soldering, cleaning, coating, or mechanical assembly processes.
• Experience establishing equipment settings, qualifying processes, and resolving recurring manufacturing defects.
• Experience creating work instructions and training production personnel.
• Working knowledge of J-STD-001 soldering requirements and IPC-A-610 acceptance criteria for Class 2 and Class 3 assemblies, as applicable to customer requirements.
• Strong practical troubleshooting, root cause analysis, and corrective action skills.
• Ability to interpret assembly drawings, BOMs, schematics, customer specifications, and equipment documentation.
• Ability to establish process limits, validate changes, and sustain repeatable results.
• Working knowledge of statistical process control (SPC), design of experiments (DOE), PFMEA, and Lean manufacturing.
• Familiarity with equipment programming, thermal profiling, inspection data, and process measurement tools.
• Strong communication, documentation, and operator training skills.
• Ability to prioritize urgent production needs while completing sustained process improvements.

Experience

• Experience with conformal coating materials, application methods, cleanliness, and curing preferred.
• Experience in high-reliability electronics manufacturing, including aerospace or defense applications, preferred.

Skills

• Strong practical troubleshooting, root cause analysis, and corrective action skills.
• Ability to interpret assembly drawings, BOMs, schematics, customer specifications, and equipment documentation.
• Ability to establish process limits, validate changes, and sustain repeatable results.
• Working knowledge of statistical process control (SPC), design of experiments (DOE), PFMEA, and Lean manufacturing.
• Familiarity with equipment programming, thermal profiling, inspection data, and process measurement tools.
• Strong communication, documentation, and operator training skills.
• Ability to prioritize urgent production needs while completing sustained process improvements.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and manufacturing documentation systems; ERP/MES experience preferred.

Benefits

• 401(k) with company match
• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance
• Paid time off
• Career growth opportunities in high-reliability electronics manufacturing

Schedule

• 8-hour shift, Monday–Friday
• Overtime and weekends as needed
• Pay Range
• $75,000 — $95,000 USD
• ITAR/EAR Compliance: Due to the nature of the work performed at Rocket EMS, this position may require access to export-controlled technical data or technology. The successful candidate must be eligible to access such information under applicable U.S. export-control laws or be eligible for any required government authorization.
• Rocket EMS will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the California Fair Chance Act. Candidates are not required to disclose criminal history or participate in a background check unless and until a conditional offer of employment has been made. Any final offer of employment may be conditioned on completion of a background check, consistent with applicable law. #zr

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related field preferred.
• Experience with conformal coating materials, application methods, cleanliness, and curing preferred.
• Experience in high-reliability electronics manufacturing, including aerospace or defense applications, preferred.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and manufacturing documentation systems; ERP/MES experience preferred.