NPI Engineer: Photonics Manufacturing Transfer Leader

Gooch & Housego Pal Alto; Fremont (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

G&H is seeking an NPI Engineer to bridge Research & Development and Operations by leading the industrialization and successful transfer of new photonic products from concept and prototype through manufacturing scale-up and product maturity.

You will partner closely with R&D, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, and Program Management teams to ensure products are robust, manufacturable, cost-effective, and ready for volume production.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Industrial, Optical, Electrical Engineering, or related discipline.
• 5+ years of experience in New Product Introduction, Manufacturing Engineering, Process Engineering, or Product Development in a high-technology manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated experience leading product industrialization and transferring products from R&D/prototype phases into production manufacturing.
• Strong understanding of DFM/DFA principles, process validation, and product industrialization.
• Experience with engineering change management, configuration control, and product lifecycle management (PLM) systems.
• Knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, PFMEA, Control Plans, and structured problem-solving methodologies.
• Experience with process qualification, risk assessment, manufacturing readiness reviews, and production ramp activities.
• Excellent project management, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead the transfer and industrialization of new products and technologies from R&D into manufacturing, ensuring technical readiness, documentation completeness, and successful production release.
• Drive Design for Manufacturability (DFM), Design for Assembly (DFA), and Design for Excellence (DFX) activities to optimize product performance, quality, manufacturability, and cost.
• Plan and execute prototype builds, pilot runs, process characterization activities, and manufacturing trials to validate product designs and production processes.
• Develop and execute product maturation plans to improve yield, reliability, manufacturability, and cost throughout the product lifecycle.
• Establish, qualify, and validate manufacturing processes, tooling, fixtures, work instructions, and test methods required for successful production ramp and sustained manufacturing.
• Analyze manufacturing, quality, and yield data to identify trends, resolve technical issues, and drive continuous process improvements.
• Serve as the technical liaison between R&D, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, and Operations throughout the NPI lifecycle.
• Lead cross-functional manufacturing readiness reviews and provide status updates on product launch, risk mitigation, capacity planning, and production readiness.
• Manage engineering changes, Bills of Material (BOMs), product documentation, and configuration control activities to support successful product launches.
• Support products following launch by driving yield improvements, cost reduction initiatives, and corrective actions for manufacturing and field performance issues.

Skills

DFM

DFA

DFX

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Lean Manufacturing

Six Sigma

PFMEA

Process validation

PLM

Engineering change management

Quality data analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Tools

PLM systems

Job description

G&H is seeking an NPI Engineer to bridge Research & Development and Operations by leading the industrialization and successful transfer of new photonic products from concept and prototype through manufacturing scale-up and product maturity.

You will partner closely with R&D, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, and Program Management teams to ensure products are robust, manufacturable, cost-effective, and ready for volume production.