Position Title and Location: Manufacturing Engineer II (McMinnville, OR)
Applied Physics Technologies is a leading manufacturer of thermionic and field-emission cathodes and related electron-source assemblies. Located in the heart of Oregon’s wine country, APT combines the global reach and resources of Hitachi High-Tech with the close-knit culture and individual impact of a smaller, growing manufacturing company.
Our products incorporate specialized materials, high-vacuum processes, precision manufacturing, high-voltage conditioning, and exacting assembly and test requirements. Because our engineering and production teams work closely together, Manufacturing Engineers at APT have a direct and visible impact on product quality, delivery performance, manufacturing capability, and customer satisfaction.
Position Summary:
As a Manufacturing Engineer, you will be responsible for the technical health, reliability, and continuous improvement of assigned manufacturing processes. You will work directly with production personnel to diagnose process and equipment problems, restore production when interruptions occur, reduce recurring failures, and improve manufacturing safety, quality, delivery, productivity, and cost.
APT’s manufacturing processes include zone refining of boride materials and tungsten; micromachining and shaping of lanthanum hexaboride and cerium hexaboride crystals; Schottky emitter assembly; cathode and electron-gun module assembly; tungsten etching; high-voltage conditioning; and cathode and module testing.
The successful candidate will develop sufficient knowledge of these processes to serve as a dependable technical resource when problems arise. This requires strong engineering fundamentals, hands-on mechanical and electrical aptitude, experience with vacuum systems and high voltage, disciplined troubleshooting skills, and the ability to work calmly but urgently during line-down situations.
A Manufacturing Engineer will also identify and implement process improvements, develop and maintain manufacturing documentation, support the company’s Quality Management System, and help transfer new or modified products and processes into production.
Essential Responsibilities:
Production Process Ownership and Support
- Develop a detailed working knowledge of assigned products, equipment, materials, manufacturing processes, process parameters, test methods, and acceptance criteria.
- Provide hands-on engineering support for manufacturing processes, including:
o Zone refining of borides and tungsten.
o Micromachining and shaping of lanthanum hexaboride and cerium hexaboride
crystals.
o Schottky emitter assembly.
o Cathode and electron-gun module assembly.
o Tungsten etching and related chemical processes.
o High-voltage conditioning of electron-gun modules.
o Electrical, emission, vacuum, cathode, and module testing.
- Diagnose process, equipment, tooling, material, and product-performance problems using structured troubleshooting and root-cause analysis.
- Respond promptly to line-down and production-limiting conditions, balancing the need to restore production with safety, quality, and documentation requirements.
- Lead or support immediate containment, technical investigation, corrective action, verification of effectiveness, and prevention of recurrence.
- Work closely with production technicians and supervisors to resolve day-to-day manufacturing issues and improve process consistency.
- Provide clear and timely communication regarding production problems, technical risks, recovery plans, corrective actions, and expected completion dates.
- Establish appropriate process controls, operating limits, inspection points, test requirements, and reaction plans.
- Train and support production personnel in manufacturing methods, troubleshooting practices, process changes, and new equipment.
In support of continuous improvement, you will:
- Evaluate manufacturing processes and workflows to identify opportunities to improve safety, quality, delivery, productivity, capacity, repeatability, and cost.
- Lead process-improvement projects from problem definition through implementation and verification.
- Apply manufacturing, industrial, mechanical, electrical, materials, and systems-engineering principles to improve product flow and process performance.
- Conduct time studies, capacity analyses, workflow evaluations, and line-balancing activities as appropriate.
- Develop and monitor meaningful manufacturing metrics, including yield, throughput, cycle time, rework, scrap, downtime, process capability, and recurring defect trends.
- Use production data and statistical methods to distinguish normal process variation from meaningful changes requiring investigation.
- Identify and eliminate sources of process variation, waste, rework, bottlenecks, and avoidable operator dependence.
- Implement improvements through APT’s established engineering-change, validation, documentation, training, and quality-system processes.
- Promote practical application of Lean manufacturing, mistake-proofing, standard work, workplace organization, and other continuous-improvement tools.
In support of quality systems and documentation, you will:
- Create, revise, and maintain:
o Standard operating procedures.
o Work instructions.
o Manufacturing specifications.
o Process-control documents.
o Inspection and test procedures.
o Equipment operating and maintenance procedures.
o Training materials.
o Process-flow diagrams and manufacturing records.
- Initiate and process Engineering Change Orders and ensure that approved changes are fully implemented in production.
- Lead or support Corrective and Preventive Actions, Material Deviation Notices, nonconformance investigations, and other quality-system activities.
- Prepare and execute Installation Qualification, Operational Qualification, and Performance Qualification protocols and reports for new or modified manufacturing equipment and processes.
- Ensure that process changes are appropriately evaluated, documented, validated, approved, communicated, and incorporated into controlled production documentation.
- Participate in internal audits, customer audits, and quality reviews as needed.
- Support risk assessments, failure analysis, process validation, and verification of corrective-action effectiveness.
- Maintain accurate, complete, and traceable engineering records.
In support of equipment, tooling, and manufacturing systems, you will:
- Design, develop, specify, or improve manufacturing equipment, test stands, assembly fixtures, vacuum systems, tooling, and process controls.
- Troubleshoot electrical, mechanical, vacuum, high-voltage, thermal, motion-control, instrumentation, and process-equipment problems.
- Develop equipment requirements and work with internal personnel, suppliers, and contractors to procure, install, qualify, and maintain manufacturing systems.
- Improve equipment reliability and maintainability through preventive-maintenance requirements, critical-spares planning, failure analysis, and equipment upgrades.
- Evaluate opportunities for appropriate automation, data collection, error-proofing, and process monitoring.
- Ensure that equipment and tooling meet applicable safety, quality, ergonomic, and production requirements.
In support of new products and process transfers, you will:
- Support the introduction of new products and the redevelopment or improvement of existing products.
- Participate in design reviews and provide recommendations regarding manufacturability, testability, process capability, materials, tooling, assembly methods, and production risk.
- Work with Research and Development to define production processes, performance specifications, acceptance criteria, and test methods.
- Develop the equipment, tooling, documentation, training, and process controls required to transfer new or modified products into routine production.
- Support prototype and pilot builds, analyze results, and resolve issues before production release.
- Help ensure that transferred processes are stable, repeatable, adequately documented, and capable of meeting production requirements.
In support of cross-functional and supplier collaboration, you will:
- Collaborate effectively with Production, Quality, Research and Development, Sales, and company leadership.
- Work with suppliers to develop specifications, investigate material or component problems, and improve supplier quality, consistency, delivery, and cost.
- Communicate technical requirements clearly to suppliers and evaluate proposed changes or corrective actions.
- Support technical discussions with customers when manufacturing, product-performance, or process expertise is required.
- Build productive working relationships with operators and technicians and actively seek their knowledge when investigating or improving production processes.
Necessary Skills:
- Working knowledge of vacuum science and vacuum-system operation, including pumps, gauges, seals, leak detection, contamination control, and vacuum troubleshooting.
- Strong electrical knowledge, including the ability to read electrical schematics, use standard electrical test equipment, and troubleshoot electrical and electromechanical systems.
- Experience working with high-voltage equipment and a strong understanding of associated hazards and safe work practices.
- Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot complex manufacturing problems systematically and determine root cause.
- Experience of responding to urgent production problems or line-down conditions.
- Experience creating and maintaining SOPs, work instructions, manufacturing specifications, and other controlled technical documentation.
- Experience with engineering changes, nonconformance investigations, corrective actions, process validation, and formal qualification documentation.
- Ability to analyze manufacturing data and apply basic statistical and industrial-engineering methods.
- Strong mechanical aptitude and willingness to work directly with production equipment, fixtures, tooling, and manufactured components.
- Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and commitment to technical accuracy.
- Effective written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining appropriate urgency and follow-through.
- Demonstrated commitment to safety, quality, professional conduct, and ethical decision-making.
Preferred Skills:
- Experience with electron sources, vacuum electronics, semiconductor equipment, scientific instruments, electron microscopy, X-ray equipment, or other high-vacuum and high-voltage products.
- Experience with refractory metals, ceramics, borides, crystal materials, or other brittle and difficult-to-machine materials.
- Experience with zone refining, crystal growth, precision micromachining, chemical etching, brazing, welding, high-temperature processing, or ultra-high-vacuum assembly.
- Experience with thermionic cathodes, field-emission cathodes, electron-gun modules, or high-voltage conditioning.
- Experience with Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, Kaizen, 5S, standard work, mistake-proofing, or statistical process control.
- Experience conducting time studies, capacity analyses, process-capability studies, or designed experiments.
- Experience developing fixtures, test systems, equipment controls, or manufacturing automation.
- Familiarity with ISO 9001 or a comparable formal Quality Management System.
- Experience working in a high-mix, specialized manufacturing environment.
- Experience using CAD, data-analysis, statistical, equipment-control, or programming tools.
Education and Experience Requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree in manufacturing, Mechanical, Electrical, Materials, Process, Industrial, Systems, Applied Physics, or a closely related engineering discipline.
- Minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in manufacturing, process engineering, equipment engineering, product engineering, or a similar technical role.
- Experience supporting technically complex manufacturing processes in a production environment.
Characteristics of a Successful Candidate:
The successful Manufacturing Engineer will:
- Take personal ownership of manufacturing problems and follow them through resolution.
- Understand that line-down conditions require urgency, clear communication, and disciplined execution.
- Be equally comfortable analyzing data, writing technical documentation, and working hands-on with equipment and production personnel.
- Approach troubleshooting methodically rather than relying on trial and error.
- Seek permanent corrective actions rather than repeatedly treating symptoms.
- Respect the knowledge and experience of production technicians and operators.
- Be curious about how processes work and persist in determining why they fail.
- Balance immediate production needs with long-term process reliability.
- Recognize that process improvements are not complete until they are validated, documented, approved, trained, and sustained.
- Consistently look for practical ways to make manufacturing safer, more repeatable, more efficient, and more capable.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: From $95,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Flexible schedule
- Flexible spending account
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Retirement plan
- Tuition reimbursement
- Vision insurance
Education:
Work Location: In person
