PCBA Supplier Industrialization & Quality Engineer

Zipline; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Zipline is seeking a Supplier Industrialization Engineer (SIE) to strengthen PCBA supplier quality and manufacturing excellence. You will lead supplier selection, qualification, and process controls, collaborating with Engineering, Supply Chain, and Manufacturing to scale next‑gen electronics.

Responsibilities include DfM on PCBAs, driving CM performance, SCARs, and NPIs with international travel up to 35%. Starting compensation ranges between $130k and $190k, plus benefits.

Qualifications

• 3+ years in Supplier Quality/Development or Manufacturing Engineering.
• Strong PCBA manufacturing expertise (SMT, through-hole, AOI, ICT, conformal coating).
• Experience with CMs for PCB/PCBA assembly (FPC/FPCA a plus).
• Knowledge of IPC and ISO standards (auditor a plus).
• Proven success in supplier audits, APQP, PPAP, PFMEA, SPC.
• Hands-on root-cause analysis (8D, 5-Whys, Pareto, Fishbone).
• Strong DFM for PCBAs; Gerber viewers.
• Troubleshoot PCBA failures with suppliers to improve yield.
• Understanding of GD&T.
• Experience leading supplier process validation (EOL testing, first article).
• Strong data analytics skills (JMP, Minitab, R).
• Experience with automation/new tech with suppliers.

Responsibilities

• Perform DfM on PCBAs and Top Level Assembly (TLA) and provide design guidance to Engineering Teams.
• Drive Contract Manufacturers (CM) on quality, responsiveness, and process efficiency
• Own and be responsible for field quality failures through Supplier Corrective Action Requests (SCARs)
• Participate in supplier quotations by acting as the technical expert and providing the expert knowledge on PCBA and TLA line layout, setup and cost targets.
• Determine and manage production line layout capacity by balancing cycle time and driving process flow changes.
• Audit and improve suppliers onsite to meet Zipline requirements.
• Deploy and monitor statistical quality control (SPC) methodologies, ensuring data-driven decision-making and process stability.
• Ensure compliance with IPC, ISO, and automotive/aerospace standards (e.g., IPC-A-600, IPC-A-610, J-STD-001, AS9100, IATF16949).
• Act as the critical-to-quality (CTQ) leadership during New Product Introductions (NPIs) at suppliers sites.
• International travel (up to 35%) is required to engage with manufacturing partners.

Skills

PCB/PCBA

Supplier QA

APQP/PPAP

8D/Root Cause

IPC/ISO standards

Data analytics

Automation with suppliers

EOL testing

GD&T

First article

Tools

JMP

Minitab

R

Job description

Zipline is seeking a Supplier Industrialization Engineer (SIE) to strengthen PCBA supplier quality and manufacturing excellence. You will lead supplier selection, qualification, and process controls, collaborating with Engineering, Supply Chain, and Manufacturing to scale next‑gen electronics.

Responsibilities include DfM on PCBAs, driving CM performance, SCARs, and NPIs with international travel up to 35%. Starting compensation ranges between $130k and $190k, plus benefits.