Senior Electrical Engineer — DFM & Obsolescence Leader

Brandywine Communications; Santa Ana (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Brandywine Communications in Santa Ana, CA seeks a Senior Electrical Engineer to lead DFM for the company’s PCB designs across the product portfolio. You will optimize manufacturability, cost, and quality before release to production or EMS partners.

Role requires guiding obsolescence mitigation, refining designs for long‑term sustainability, and ensuring smooth prototype-to-production transitions. You will collaborate with design, manufacturing, and supply chain to drive reliability.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related field.
• 8+ years PCB design/DFM experience in aerospace/high-reliability manufacturing.
• Experience with DFM/DFA reviews and manufacturability improvements.
• Proficient in PCB design tools (Altium, OrCAD, Mentor).
• Knowledge of IPC-A-600, IPC-610, MIL-STD guidelines.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration across design, manufacturing, and supply chain.
• Experience with EMS/CEM providers, PLM/ERP systems, and ITAR/EXPORT compliance is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Perform DFM reviews for PCB assemblies, ensuring manufacturability, reliability, and cost optimization prior to release.
• Lead DFM activities for board-level product obsolescence program, addressing high-risk components and identifying replacement or redesign options.
• Partner with design engineers to review schematics, layouts, and BOMs for compliance with internal and industry standards.
• Develop and maintain DFM guidelines for electrical design, incorporating feedback from internal teams and EMS partners.
• Collaborate with manufacturing and supply chain teams to ensure component availability, standardization, and ease of assembly.
• Perform recurring obsolescence evaluations and implement component or layout updates for existing products.
• Validate that designs meet fabrication (DFF) and assembly (DFA) requirements, optimizing PCB layout for solderability, spacing, and accessibility.
• Evaluate and approve design documentation packages for production readiness, including Gerber files, fabrication drawings, and test procedures.
• Work with suppliers and EMS providers to align design specifications with manufacturing capabilities and process limits.
• Contribute to continuous improvement by identifying cost‑reduction opportunities and design simplifications that improve product yield and throughput.
• Provide technical leadership in DFM methodology, training, and best practices across the engineering team.

Skills

PCB design

DFM

Cross-functional collaboration

Schematic review

Design for reliability

Lifecycle management

Product obsolescence mitigation

Communication

ITAR/EXPORT compliance

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Altium Designer

OrCAD

Mentor Graphics

Job description

Brandywine Communications in Santa Ana, CA seeks a Senior Electrical Engineer to lead DFM for the company’s PCB designs across the product portfolio. You will optimize manufacturability, cost, and quality before release to production or EMS partners.

Role requires guiding obsolescence mitigation, refining designs for long‑term sustainability, and ensuring smooth prototype-to-production transitions. You will collaborate with design, manufacturing, and supply chain to drive reliability.