Senior PCBA Manufacturing Engineer — Spaceflight Leader

Impulse Space, Inc.; Redondo Beach (CA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Impulse Space, Inc. is seeking a Principal Manufacturing Engineer (PCBA) to lead PCBAs manufacturing and drive manufacturability for spaceflight products. You will bridge Design and Manufacturing, setting standards, methods, and acceptance criteria for PCBA fabrication and testing.

You will own PCBA specifications, optimize SMT and rework processes, and mentor teams across disciplines while staying abreast of advanced PCBA technologies and industry best practices.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of demonstrated PCBAs manufacturing experience (SMT, conformal coating, staking, underfill).
• 10+ years of demonstrated PCBAs inspection experience (X-ray/CT, flying probe, AOI).
• Deep understanding of PCBs and PCBA manufacturing materials.
• Strong knowledge of soldering physics, fluxes, solder alloys, surface finishes, and thermal profiles.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership as the subject-matter expert on PCBAs, including manufacturing process, materials, design for manufacturability, environmental testing and qualification.
• Develop, qualify and optimize manufacturing processes for PCBAs, including solder rework, SMT, conformal coating, staking, underfill and inspection.
• Develop, characterize, and optimize PCBA assembly processes, including hand soldering, wave soldering, reflow soldering, selective soldering.
• Apply an understanding of soldering physics, including heat transfer, wetting, surface tension, and intermetallic formation.
• Serve as a subject-matter resource for PCBA rework and repair, including component removal, pad repair, solder-joint rework, and cleaning.
• Provide technical expertise on environmental testing of PCBAs, including vibration, thermal cycling and thermal vacuum.
• Collaborate with design engineers to ensure manufacturability, testability, reliability, drawing review and DFM/DFA of PCBAs.
• Own company specifications on PCBAs.
• Stay up-to-date with industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in PCBA manufacturing.

Skills

PCBAs manufacturing

Soldering physics

Process development

DFM/DFA

Environmental testing

Education

Bachelor's degree in Materials Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Electrical Engineering, or related field

Tools

X-ray/CT inspection

AOI

Flying probe

Job description

Impulse Space, Inc. is seeking a Principal Manufacturing Engineer (PCBA) to lead PCBAs manufacturing and drive manufacturability for spaceflight products. You will bridge Design and Manufacturing, setting standards, methods, and acceptance criteria for PCBA fabrication and testing.

You will own PCBA specifications, optimize SMT and rework processes, and mentor teams across disciplines while staying abreast of advanced PCBA technologies and industry best practices.