Manufacturing Design Engineer - Brittles

Apple Inc.; Chennai District; On-site; INR 1,800,000 - 3,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Apple Inc. manufacturing design team in Chennai seeks a Manufacturing Design Engineer to own innovative manufacturing processes for iPhone enclosures. You will work with design partners and suppliers to deliver high quality, cost-effective solutions across the supply base.

The role requires hands-on glass processing experience (laser, CNC, finishing) and strong skills in fixture/automation design, FEA, and DoE. Willingness to travel within India is expected.

Qualifications

• BS or higher in mechanical, manufacturing, industrial engineering, or related fields.
• 5+ years in high-volume mechanical product development, manufacturing engineering, tooling engineering, or similar.
• Hands-on Electronics glass processing with laser, CNC, surface finishing, chemical etching or strengthening.
• Knowledge of fixture/automation design and use of design software and FEA for stress analysis.
• Understanding Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing.
• Understanding Data Analysis and Design of Experiments.

Responsibilities

• Own development and implementation of manufacturing processes for iPhone enclosures.
• Collaborate with design teams and suppliers to align on strategy, goals, and schedules.
• Identify and validate fabrication equipment and processes meeting specs.
• Develop and document processes with parameters, consumables, and secondary operations.
• Conduct DOE-based process optimization using data-driven methods.
• Communicate status and align design requirements with manufacturing capability.
• Travel within India to support partner sites and in-region teams.
• Lead development in Glass Processing and related equipment/techniques.

Education

BS or higher in mechanical engineering

Manufacturing/industrial engineering

5+ years high-volume mechanical product development

Data Analysis

DOE (Design of Experiments)

Statistical methods

Tools

FEA

Job description

Manufacturing Design Engineer - Brittles

Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India Operations and Supply Chain

Imagine what you could do here. At Apple, innovative ideas quickly become extraordinary products, services, and customer experiences. This is where individual imaginations and experiences gather, leading to great work. Bring passion and dedication to your job, and there's no telling what you could accomplish. The people here at Apple don't just create products - they make the kind of wonder that’s revolutionized entire industries. The diversity of those people and their ideas inspire the innovation that runs through everything we do, from amazing technology to industry-leading environmental efforts. Join Apple, and help us leave the world better than we found it.

Description

The Apple Manufacturing Design Engineer (MDE) is accountable for owning the development and implementation of innovative manufacturing processes across Apple's worldwide supply base. In this highly collaborative role, you will work closely with Apple Industrial Design, Product Design, and Manufacturing Design partners and our worldwide suppliers. This role is empowered to bring creativity to Apple's manufacturing approach, enabling us to deliver our best work to as many customers as possible. You will be a part of collaborative environment contributing to the creation, evaluation, and implementation of end-to-end manufacturing solutions for Apple's iPhone enclosures. You will collaborate closely with cross-functional stakeholders in Quality Engineering, Global Supply Management, Product Design, and Industrial Design in order to ensure our manufacturing solutions meet our product quality, cost, yield, capacity, schedule, and environmental goals.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate product and industrial design goals to understand the dimensional, cosmetic, and functional priorities for the product
• Collaborate with Global Supply Managers and Apple's manufacturing suppliers to align on a manufacturing development strategy with clear goals, deliverables, and schedule
• Identify and validate suitable fabrication equipment and processes to meet all Apple design and operational requirements
• Develop and document processes, including all parameters, consumables, and secondary operation requirements to meet defined specifications
• Conduct process optimization DOE's, using data-driven and hands-on approaches together to find solutions to complex challenges
• Communicate ongoing process development status to cross-functional teams and lead discussions to align design requirements with manufacturing capability
• Willingness to travel within India to support manufacturing partner sites and collaborate with in-region team members
• Familiarity with a phase gate product development approach
• You may be asked to lead development in one or more of the following areas to help ensure that quality & yield requirements are met:
• Glass Processing: Develop all processes for glass laser, grinding, lapping, polishing, CNC milling, chemical strengthening, decoration and functional coatings (with inks, and other thin film deposition techniques etc). Ensure that quality and yield requirements are met.
• As part of process development, scope appropriate process equipment, design/develop fixtures, implement touch probing, selection of consumables, lead the reduction of cycle time, development of advanced cutters and coatings. Own optimization/yield improvement actions and process change decisions based on statistical process control (SPC) data analysis.

Minimum Qualifications

• BS or higher in mechanical, manufacturing, industrial engineering, or related fields
• 5+ years of experience in high-volume mechanical product development, manufacturing engineering, tooling engineering, high-precision fabrication, or similar roles
• Hands-on experience in Electronics glass processing with specialisation in one of the following: laser, CNC, surface finishing, chemical etching and strengthening
• Understanding core principles of fixture and automation design, including the use of design software and FEA for stress/structural analysis
• Understanding core principles of Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing
• Understanding core principles of Data Analysis and Design of Experiments

Preferred Qualifications

• Masters or PhD in Mechanical Engineering with relevant research or work experience in Brittles applications
• Specialising in process and equipment development for electronics glass applications
• A quick learner who approaches problems flexibly and proactively identifies solutions in the face of challenges
• Strong ability to influence using clear and concise communication skills to make data-driven manufacturing decisions
• Strong abilities and background in materials characterization with hands-on troubling (understanding of analytical tools such as SEM / TEM / EDX / FTIR / XPS etc.)
• Ability to work independently with cross-functional teams and drive towards common goals.
• Ability to present technical analysis of manufacturing capability to diverse cross-functional team.
• A team player who is self-motivated, result oriented and detail driven.
• Knowledge in deep learning (DL) or statistical machine learning (ML) is preferred.
• Experience working with OEMs and Contract Manufacturers in the Consumer Electronics Industry is a plus

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