Lead SMT Line for Frontier AI Hardware

Etched; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 250,000 - 350,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental coverage

Vision coverage

Housing subsidy

Relocation assistance

Wellness benefits

Daily lunch and dinner

Unlimited compute budget

Job summary

Etched in San Jose, CA is seeking an experienced SMT Line Lead to operate its in-house SMT line for NPI and mass production. You will own day-to-day line operations, schedule shifts, manage an on-site team of IQC, material handlers, testers, and machine operators, and coordinate with process engineering and procurement to keep parts flowing.

You will build training programs, ensure quality and traceability, and drive yield improvements while adopting agentic AI to optimize throughput.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a STEM field or comparable experience.
• Minimum five years in electronics manufacturing (PCBA/SMT) with two years leading teams.
• Hands-on SMT line management: scheduling, kitting, setup, changeovers, inventory.
• Experience managing mixed teams across shifts.
• Familiarity with SMT inspection and quality processes (SPI/AOI, IPC specs).
• Interested in automating tasks with agentic AI; willing to learn on the job.

Responsibilities

• Own day-to-day operation of a US-based SMT line for NPI and mass production.
• Hire, lead, and develop the line's operations team across roles.
• Own shift schedules and coverage, including overtime and backfill.
• Build training and certification programs and maintain a skills matrix.
• Turn program priorities into daily/weekly build schedules.
• Own material flow from receiving to finished goods and inventory health.
• Collaborate with supply chain to ensure material availability and quality.
• Run inspection flow and rework; partner on yield improvement.
• Define line processes, handoffs, and material disposition procedures.
• Report line status, schedule attainment, yield, and inventory health daily.

Skills

Line operations

Team leadership

Shift scheduling

Training programs

Build scheduling

Material flow

Inventory management

Quality and yield

Process definition

AI integration

Education

Bachelor's degree in STEM

Tools

MES

Traceability systems

Inventory systems

Job description

Etched in San Jose, CA is seeking an experienced SMT Line Lead to operate its in-house SMT line for NPI and mass production. You will own day-to-day line operations, schedule shifts, manage an on-site team of IQC, material handlers, testers, and machine operators, and coordinate with process engineering and procurement to keep parts flowing.

You will build training programs, ensure quality and traceability, and drive yield improvements while adopting agentic AI to optimize throughput.