Manufacturing Engineer, PCBA

Manufacturing Engineer, PCBA

Torrance, California, United States

About the Job

Castelion is bringing a new approach to defense development and production: one that focuses on short, iterative design cycles, rapid testing in development, and modern commercial manufacturing strategies for production at scale. We design, build, and test next generation weapon systems to give America and its Allies a definitive edge in defense capabilities.

Manufacturing Engineer, PCBA

Castelion is seeking a Manufacturing Engineer to drive the development and implementation of manufacturing processes for printed circuit board assemblies (PCBA) and complex electronics hardware. This role will support both in-house and supplier SMT assembly, board bring-up, validation, and qualification as we transition designs from prototype to scalable production in support of next-generation defense systems.

Key Outcomes for 2026

• Establish In House PCBA Capability – define, document, and implement procedures, work instructions, tooling, and process flows for bringing up prototype boards, performing repair/rework, and executing validation tests.
• Establish & Qualify a Supply Chain for Prototype and Production PCBA – identify, evaluate, and onboard supplier partners for PCBA services that align with product complexity, lead time needs, and quality/risk requirements. Define supplier qualification criteria (capability matrices, certifications, workmanship standards, test coverage, inspection tools) and establish supplier audits, capability studies, and baseline process validations.
• Deliver All PCBA Hardware On-Time with Zero Defects – drive, track and report build execution for all avionics PCBA hardware to meet development, test, and qualification milestones. Establish and enforce key quality checkpoints to detect and resolve defects before delivery to integration

Responsibilities

• Assembly & Test Procedure – create and maintain work instructions, bill of materials (BOM/MBOM), assembly and test procedures, fixture/tooling spec sheets, and process flows for production and prototype builds.
• Supplier Development & Support – partner with supply chain to establish process capability, define quality/test criteria, and qualify vendor lines for production builds.
• Prototype to Production Transition – support design reviews with focus on design for manufacturability (DFM), design for test (DFT), and supplier handoff readiness. Facilitate risk analysis and manufacturing readiness reviews (MRRs).
• Testing & Validation – develop functional and environmental test plans for PCBA, including test fixture development, automated test systems including HALT/HASS, and test data analysis.
• Continuous Improvement & Metrics – drive yield improvement, throughput gains, defect reduction, and cost optimization through Lean and CI methodologies.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in mechanical, Electrical, Manufacturing, or related Engineering discipline.
• 3+ years of experience in electronics manufacturing engineering with emphasis on PCBA, SMT processes, board test, and validation.
• Hands-on experience developing production processes for PCB assembly and test.
• Strong problem-solving skills and electrophysical troubleshooting ability.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Must be authorized to work in the U.S. and comply with ITAR eligibility requirements.

Leadership Qualities

• Bias to Action and Creative Problem Solving . Desire and experience questioning assumptions in ways that lead to break through ideas that are ultimately implemented. Successfully bring in applicable processes/concepts/materials from other industries to achieve efficiency gains. Ability to personally resolve minor issues in development without requiring significant support.
• High Commitment, High Initiative . A successful candidate will have a genuine passion for Castelion's mission and consistently look for ways to contribute to the company's technical goals and prevent hardware blockers. Ability to work in a fast paced, autonomously driven, and demanding atmosphere. Strong sense of accountability and integrity.
• Clear Communicator . Proactively communicates blockers. Trusted in previous roles to be voice of company with regulators, suppliers, gate keepers and customers. Capable of tactfully managing relationships with stakeholders to achieve company-desired outcomes without compromising relationships. Emails, IMs and verbal interactions are logical, drive clarity, and detailed enough to eliminate ambiguity.

ITAR Requirements

• To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Employment with Castelion is governed on the basis of competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

All employees are granted long-term stock incentives as part of their employment at Castelion. All employees receive access to comprehensive medical, vision, and dental insurance, and the company offers four weeks of paid time off per year.