Process Engineer, New Product Introduction (NPI)

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

• Scale innovative processes from prototype to high-volume manufacturing, driving yield, throughput, and manufacturability
• Design, implement, and validate manufacturing processes that ensure product scalability, quality, and reliability
• Build and qualify first articles while establishing process readiness for customer and internal validation
• Partner with customer-facing teams and cross-functional engineering groups to prove out product viability and readiness for commercialization
• Identify product development needs and act as a conduit for aligning process roadmaps with customer requirements and future technologies
• Conduct structured experiments and root cause analysis to de-risk manufacturing scale-up and accelerate product launches
• Develop process documentation and train staff to ensure smooth handoff from NPI into sustained high-volume production
• Work hands-on with high-volume manufacturing and R&D equipment

Experience/Education

• Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities)
• Bachelor's degree or higher in Materials Science, Physics, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, or related field.
• 5-7+ years of hands-on professional experience
• Proven experience scaling processes from prototype to production
• Strong background in process design for manufacturability, yield improvement, and cost reduction
• Experience with prototype builds, first article validation, and technical collaboration
• Prior manufacturing start-up experience
• Familiarity with advanced materials and high-volume manufacturing methods (e.g., vacuum lamination, thermally-activated adhesives, roll-to-roll processing, material patterning, laser welding)
• Solid background in statistical methods, data visualization, systematic experiment design, and related software (e.g. JMP, Minitab, etc.)
• Ability to synthesize and interpret complex data sets to understand physical phenomena and support data-driven decisions
• Ability to safely and confidently operate and troubleshoot custom manufacturing and metrology equipment
• Independent problem solver with a desire to learn new skills and new technology
• Strong organization skills and a detail-oriented mindset
• Able to adapt to changing requirements in a fast-paced start-up setting
• Strong communicator and collaborator, energized by working across functions to bring products to market

Physical Demands and Work Environment

• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions
• Working Conditions/Hours
• Salaried Exempt
• Physical Demands – Office and Manufacturing Environment
• While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear
• The employee frequently is required to use hands or finger, handle, or feel objects, tools or controls
• The employee is required to stand; walk; sit; reach with hands and arms and pull/push; climb or balance; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl
• The employee must lift and/or move up to 50 pounds without assistance
• Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, and the ability to adjust focus
• Work Environment – Includes both a typical office environment, with minimal exposure to excessive noise or adverse environmental issues, and a shop environment, with exposure to high noise levels from operating machines, physical hazards from moving equipment and machine parts, nuisance dust, and skin exposure to chemicals used to run/maintain machines
• PPE May be required to wear Personal Protective Equipment, including but not limited to safety glasses, safety shoes, bump-caps, gloves, hair nets, masks, & clean-room frocks while adhering to the prescribed safety procedures