Bloomington R&D Principal Engineer

The R&D Principal Engineer – Quantum owns quantum interconnect manufacturing development and support. This engineer will support all engineering aspects of the quantum interconnect market from innovation through production readiness. An early focus for this role will be creating and executing quality criteria, product and process optimization, capital equipment strategy, and a quantum-specific new part introduction process. The engineer in this role will use their expertise to advise on product and process materials, technology roadmaps, timelines, and costs that will help inform the strategic benefit of future products, processes, and capabilities. They will write reports, papers, and patent applications to document and protect research efforts while contributing to the training and development of the R&D team.

Essential Job Duties

• Main contact for internal stakeholders on the development of quantum interconnect materials and processes.

• Develop new products, technologies, and processes for the client with input from product managers.

• Collaborate with engineers, quality, sales, and operations in other groups to drive action and resolution for issues that arise.

• Participate in cross-functional activities to support the execution of critical quantum projects.

• Identify risks and develop mitigation plans for new materials, products, processes, and technologies

• Support R&D and Operations on quantum interconnects with specific process, equipment, instruction, material, and part number challenges.

• Fully document Standard Operating Procedures, Control Plans, Risk Mitigations, Environmental Health & Safety Requirements. Photo and video-based instructions are desired.

• Write test reports to document development work.

• Advise on development costs and lead times associated with project activities

• Create strategic plans and road maps for multi-process improvements using Voice of the Customer and industry best practices.

• Design and execute experiments to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of new materials, processes, and products that may be internal or external to the client.

• Create new systems and partner with Operations, Engineers and Quality to overhaul existing systems.

• Introduce new products and entire work centers.

• Advise on external suppliers and manufacturing partners.

• Own daily root cause analysis on development part failures, and corrective and preventative actions.

• Lead or support audits and customer visits.

• Collaborate with and travel to other the client factories, to adopt best practices.

• Attend tradeshows to stay up to date with advancements in the quantum interconnect space.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s of Science degree in an engineering field: manufacturing, mechanical, chemical, electrical, or industrial, or similar studies.

Experience and/or Training

• Significant process expertise

• Design-For-Manufacturability expertise.

• Experienced in mistake prevention methods such as poka-yoke.

• Process Engineering or design experience with circuit manufacturing.

• Experience with resistive foils or superconducting materials desired.

Technology/Equipment

• Knowledge of vendor fabrication methods.

Travel

• Up to 5% travel

Additional Skill Set

• Effective project management skills.

• CAM and machine code skill.

• Six Sigma, GR&R, FMEA, PPAP, IQ OQ PQ, Poka-Yoke, Minitab, statistical analysis skills. Lean Facilitator skill.

• Self-motivated and detail oriented.

• Excellent critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Strong technical writing skills.

• Strong Microsoft Office skills.

• Effective change management skills.

We offer a competitive base salary in the $106,000 to $131,000 range, based on experience and qualifications, along with annual bonus and profit-sharing opportunities tied to performance.

Beyond pay, our market-leading benefits are designed to support your wellbeing. These include medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, as well as short- and long-term disability coverage. We also provide a health savings account with company match, a retirement plan with employer contributions through Vanguard, and access to the Granite Assistance Fund for support when it’s needed most. We value time for rest and personal growth, offering generous paid time off, including volunteer time off and paid holidays.

Where this role comes from in uniform

The closest military equivalents to this job are 62E Civil Engineer, 21R Logistics Readiness Officer and 15A Aviation Officer. If your own code is not on that list, the MOS translator will show you where it maps, and the MOS career guides cover the rest.

Applying through LockLeed

We are filling this direct hire Bloomington R&D Principal Engineer opening in Bloomington, Minnesota. See the rest of what we are running there. Worth having ready when we talk: your PE or EIT status, the design tools you use daily, and a project you can walk through end to end. LockLeed is a veteran-owned search firm; we are free for candidates because the employer pays the fee, and we reply to every applicant, fit or not.