Staff PCBA DFM and Manufacturing Engineer

Location: Mountain View, CA, US

Department: Advanced Manufacturing (7LP)

Hardware Engineering is an innovative and collaborative group of electrical, mechanical, reliability, software and vehicle engineers. We design, build, and perfect the products which are the eyes and ears of Waymo's autonomous driving technology, and integrate those products into vehicle platforms. We're seeking curious and talented teammates to keep us moving in the right direction.      

This role follows a hybrid work schedule and reports to the Advanced Manufacturing Manager. 

You will:

• Define, develop, qualify, and scale-up PCB, PCBA, COB, and Packaging processes in collaboration with Contract Manufacturers (CM) to deliver manufacturing solutions for module assemblies, driving the complete manufacturing cycle (NPI, Supplier Bring-up and Transfer, High Volume Scaling and Sustaining), and ensuring sustaining of quality processes and compliance to Waymo’s manufacturing standard.
• Own and drive complex, high-impact projects to achieve build targets on schedule, leading continuous improvement efforts to optimize yield, throughput, reliability and quality. 
• Perform comprehensive DFM and DFA reviews for PCB layouts and stack-ups using Valor or other automation tools, proposing design optimizations in collaboration with design teams and tracking DFM issues from pilot to mass production, driving corrective actions.
• Leverage your extensive understanding of tools, processes, and techniques to standardize an overall DFM and PFMEA framework for PCB/PCBAs, consolidating design rules for PCB vendors and/or technologies.
• Be an expert in the manufacturing of various PCB technologies for highly-miniaturized sensor designs as well as high-performance compute systems, e.g. HDI, rigid-flex, ultra-low loss materials, high layer counts, heavy Cu / large PCBs.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for fabrication and assembly houses, working with the CMs’ technical and manufacturing teams to bridge the gap between the factory and the US-based HW team, responding to engineering/technical queries (EQs/TQs), guiding vendor process qualification, coordinating builds, and driving feedback loops with internal design teams to continuously improve DFM guidelines.
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You have:

• A Bachelor's degree or equivalent in Electrical, Mechanical, or Manufacturing engineering.
• 10+ years of experience as a seasoned professional in PCB, PCBA, COB, and FATP manufacturing and packaging.
• World class industry expertise in PCB fabrication, SMT processes, PCBA testing, and industrial standards, including metrology and failure analysis.
• Proficiency with DFM tools to optimize PCB designs, e.g., Valor, Allegro, or other.
• Skills in statistical data visualization and the creation of technical reports and standard operating procedures (SOPs).
• Self-motivation and communication skills necessary to thrive and stay organized within fast-paced, dynamic environments.

We prefer:

• Strong experience with sensor module assembly processes, test and packaging
• Knowledge in Mechanical modeling (e.g. Solidworks, Catia) and statistical analysis software (eg. Jmp, Minitab)
• Direct experience working with micro-assembly and packaging equipment

Travel requirements:

• Approximately 10% travel to Asia