Manufacturing Process Engineer CM Support (Optic)

Essential Functions/Responsibilities:

• Serve as the primary technical and quality liaison between Samtec, the assigned Contract Manufacturing partner, and relevant Operations, Quality, Product Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Supply Chain, and Customer Quality teams to resolve issues, support production, and meet customer requirements.

• Provide first-level engineering and quality support for manufacturing process, equipment, yield, product, and nonconformance issues; lead containment, root cause investigation, disposition, and implementation of sustainable corrective actions.

• Lead new product introductions, process transfers, and production ramp activities, including qualification planning, process validation, capability studies, and training oversight for transferred processes, tooling, and test equipment.

• Standardize manufacturing best practices and maintain supporting technical documentation, including process parameters, process windows, SOPs, work instructions, quality standards, qualification plans, training materials, and audit reports, to ensure compliance with Samtec requirements.

• Evaluate manufacturing processes, identify opportunities to improve quality, yield, throughput, reliability, and cost, and lead process improvement projects using Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, DOE, SPC, PFMEA, and other continuous improvement methodologies.

• Review and approve process changes, ensuring compliance with Samtec standards, control plans, and customer requirements.

• Plan and conduct audits of contract manufacturer operations, business processes, documentation, and training records for compliance with Samtec QMS, manufacturing, engineering, and customer requirements; document findings, coordinate corrective action plans, and verify effective closure.

• Monitor and report contract manufacturer KPIs including quality, yield, throughput, scrap, audit performance, and corrective action effectiveness.

• Lead regular business and quality reviews with Samtec, contract manufacturer, supplier, customer, and leadership stakeholders to communicate recurring production issues, quality concerns, corrective action status, performance trends, and continuous improvement priorities.

  Required Experience:

  • Experience in manufacturing and process engineering within a high‑volume production environment.
  • Working knowledge of process development, equipment qualification, and product transfers.
  • Strong problem‑solving skills with experience applying data analysis, DOE, and root cause methodologies.
  • Ability to work cross‑functionally with operations, engineering, suppliers, and contract manufacturing partners.
  • Effective communication skills and ability to provide technical guidance on the factory floor.
  • Willingness and ability to travel to support training as well as manufacturing operations for urgent technical support and equipment qualification. Expect travel amount/frequency to be around 15% or more.
  • Must be able to sit/stand for at least 90 consecutive minutes.
  • Preferred: Experience with tooling and equipment design, preferably using SolidWorks or similar CAD software.
  • Preferred: Experience with high speed optical RF test systems

  Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing Engineering or a related engineering field.