Conformal Coating Engineer

About the role

The Conformal Coating Engineer is responsible for the development, optimization, and control of conformal coating processes for printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs). This role ensures product reliability and environmental protection by selecting appropriate coating materials, defining process parameters, and maintaining compliance with industry standards. The engineer collaborates with manufacturing, Quality, and design teams to ensure robust, repeatable coating processes that meet customer and regulatory requirements.

Responsibilities

• Use and understand Lean Manufacturing principles.
• Develop, implement, and optimize conformal coating processes (e.g., selective spray, manual spray, dip, and brush coating) for PCBAs.
• Select and qualify coating materials (acrylic, silicone, urethane, epoxy) based on application requirements such as temperature, humidity, chemical exposure, and electrical performance.
• Define process parameters including viscosity, cure profiles, coating thickness, masking strategies, and application methods.
• Troubleshoot coating defects such as bubbling, de-wetting (fisheye), delamination, insufficient coverage, orange peel, cracking, and contamination.
• Create and control manufacturing instructions and implements engineering changes to the production floor.
• Generate Standard Operating Procedures and establishes scheduled maintenance for machines and equipment.
• Cover coordination with Quality teams to ensure compliance with industry standards e.g. IPC-CC-830, IPC-A-610, J-STD and MIL-I-46058 where applicable.
• Support New Product Introductions (NPI) by developing coating processes for new PCBA designs.
• Evaluate and implement automation solutions for conformal coating application processes.
• Manage relationships with material suppliers and equipment vendors.
• Perform root cause analysis and implement corrective and preventive actions (CAPA).
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives to enhance Quality, yield, and throughput while reducing cost and scrap.
• Perform training of team members per Quality and Standard Operating Procedures and specialized manufacturing techniques.
• Participate in audits and ensure compliance with EHS (Environmental, Health & Safety) regulations.
• Advise and assist Product Engineering and Quality Engineering as required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience in Mechanical, Materials Science, Manufacturing Technology, Industrial, Electrical Engineering, or other relevant discipline.
• +2-5 years preferred in either electronics manufacturing with conformal coating of PCBAs or robotics with Material Science background.
• Hands-on experience with selective coating systems and industrial automation.
• Familiarity with SMT and PCBA manufacturing processes.
• Excellent communication both written and verbal.
• Ability to read and analyze periodicals, business reports, correspondence and procedure manuals.
• Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals.
• Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions.
• Advanced calculus to determine drying and rate of spray coating application results.
• Ability to collect data, solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.
• Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.
• Ability to maintain a professional and positive image in any situation using good judgment.
• Ability to use office software, including Word processing, Spreadsheets, Databases, Slide Presentations, Internet browsers, E-mail, and business systems software.
• Supervisory Responsibilities: This job has NO supervisory responsibilities.