Manufacturing Engineer

Manufacturing Engineer

$110-140k

Farmers Branch, TX

Bell & Associates has been engaged to help our client recruit their next Manufacturing Engineer. The Manufacturing Engineer is responsible for bridging the gap between design engineering and the assembly floor, ensuring complex printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs) and box-builds can be manufactured flawlessly, repeatedly, and in full compliance with strict regulatory standards. The role has product ownership from initial customer engagement to new product introduction (NPI), production readiness, and sustaining support within an electronics assembly environment. This role translates customer technical specifications and product design elements into robust manufacturing execution plans, ensuring products are manufactured accurately, efficiently, and at target quality yields.

Responsibilities

• Lead product transitions, assembly builds, and customer Engineering Change Orders (ECOs) into production execution. Review customer documentation (BOMs, Gerber files, assembly drawings) and translate them into standardized manufacturing assembly build instructions. Define sequence of manufacturing operations, workflow routing, and product process requirements.
• Conduct rigorous Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and Design for Testing (DFT) reviews. For high-reliability electronics, this means verifying that component spacing prevents solder bridging, thermal relief is adequate for heavy copper layers, and test points are accessible for automated probes.
• Review the Bill of Materials (BOM) to identify counterfeit risks, obsolete components (EOL), long lead-time parts, and environmental requirements. In defense and aerospace, they ensure compliance with restrictions like ITAR and source components from trusted, qualified distributors.
• Translate complex engineering drawings and other documentation into step-by-step assembly visual instructions, travelers, and other supporting documents to ensure a error free product for shipment.
• Oversee and ensure on-time production readiness through the creation of custom stencils for solder paste printing, wave solder pallets, press-fit tooling, and other assembly aids and fixtures for error-proof and efficient manufacturing.
• Collaborate with test engineering to deploy Automated Optical Inspection (AOI), X-ray inspection (AXI), Flying Probe (FPT) or In-Circuit Testing (ICT), and functional product testing as part of rigorous inspection and test strategy designed to reduce process variation and ensure the highest possible product quality.
• Continuously monitor first-pass yield (FPY) and established metrics. Lead the root cause failure analysis for product and process defects identified at process inspection, test failures, or customer complaints/returns.
• Ownership for identifying, implementing, and validating robust process changes and corrective actions.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, Electrical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or equivalent related technical experience.
• 3 to 5 years of manufacturing engineering experience in an electronics contract manufacturing (EMS) or high-mix PCBA environment.
• In-depth knowledge of SMT line programming and setup, through-hole assembly (wave, selective, and PTH), reflow profiling, and box-build assembly processes.
• Proven experience in DFM/DFA analysis, tooling procurement, and generating standard work instructions.
• Experience with EMS industry CAD/CAM tools (ODB++, gerber, MES, ERP), component packaging formats, equipment qualification/validation (IQ/OQ/PQ), and Lean/Six Sigma principles.
• Deep knowledge and understanding of IPC-A-610 and J-STD-001, as well as ISO 13485 and AS9100 quality system requirements and standards.
• Strong technical problem-solving, failure analysis, and analytical decision-making capabilities.
• Clear written and verbal technical communication skills across cross-functional customer and internal teams.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to prioritize multiple engineering projects simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.
• Standards-driven mindset focused on operational excellence, quality control, and cost reduction.