Process Development Engineer (R&D)

Compensation: $108,000-$154,000 annually
Equity: Included
Location: El Segundo, CA
Work Policy: Onsite
Level: L1-L2 and L3
Hiring Count: 2 - one L1-L2 and one L3
Core KPIs: Process repeatability, yield, capability, cycle time, commercial practicality, and successful transfer to Production.
What's in it for you

You will work within Rangeview's R&D team as new technologies move from successful technical demonstrations toward manufacturing readiness. You will influence technologies while they are still evolving, own the maturation of assigned manufacturing processes, and help transfer those processes into the broader production environment.
What you'll do

As a Process Development Engineer, you will turn promising technologies into robust, repeatable, and transferable manufacturing processes.

Working closely with the team's technical leader, R&D specialists, equipment engineers, and the Production organization, you will help establish how processes behave, identify and control sources of variation, develop operating windows and process controls, and build the evidence required to demonstrate manufacturing readiness.

This is an R&D process development role, not a sustaining production engineering role.

• Own the manufacturing and process development maturity of assigned R&D processes from early technical demonstration through successful transfer to production.
• Partner with the technical leader to develop process development plans, identify manufacturing risks and knowledge gaps, and establish clear readiness criteria.
• Work with the team to design effective experiments, including experimental structure, sampling plans, measurement methods, and statistical analysis.
• Analyze experimental and process data to understand sources of variation, determine meaningful relationships between process inputs and outputs, and translate results into actionable engineering decisions.
• Establish process operating windows, critical process parameters, acceptance criteria, measurement methods, control plans, and appropriate response strategies.
• Qualify the inspection and measurement methods used to judge conformance, including measurement system capability for features that cannot be measured directly.
• Develop the manufacturing evidence required to demonstrate repeatability, yield, cycle time, capability, and commercial practicality.
• Conduct process risk assessments, FMEAs, and drive mitigation of significant manufacturing risks.
• Translate technical knowledge into robust process documentation, including specifications, work instructions, SOPs, process controls, troubleshooting guidance, and training materials.
• Work closely with equipment engineers to define process requirements for equipment, instrumentation, automation, and controls while equipment engineers retain ownership of equipment design and implementation.
• Separate process, equipment, and measurement variation before attributing a result to the process, and work with the mechatronics engineer to close the equipment and measurement contributions.
• Work alongside R&D specialists during hands-on experimentation, troubleshooting, characterization, and process development.
• Support the transition of new processes into production, including process validation, operator training, initial production runs, and resolution of development related gaps.
• Ensure receiving production teams can execute the process independently and achieve agreed quality, repeatability, throughput, and cost expectations.
• Use lessons from manufacturing development and production transfer to improve subsequent technology development efforts.

What you'll need

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering, materials science, chemical engineering, industrial engineering, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• 3+ years of experience in manufacturing engineering, process engineering, process development, applied R&D, or a related technical field.
• Demonstrated experience developing, characterizing, or improving physical manufacturing processes.
• Strong applied statistical skills, including experimental design, data analysis, process variation, measurement system analysis, and statistical process control.
• Experience translating experimental results into engineering specifications, operating limits, process controls, or manufacturing procedures.
• Strong hands-on engineering judgment and ability to troubleshoot complex interactions among materials, equipment, process parameters, and measured outcomes.
• Ability to structure ambiguous technical problems, identify the evidence required to resolve them, and drive work toward practical decisions.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to document technical work clearly enough for others to reproduce it.

Preferred qualifications

• Experience taking a new technology or manufacturing process from laboratory or prototype development through pilot production or production introduction.
• Experience with DOE, ANOVA, regression, measurement-system analysis, capability analysis, Cp/Cpk, control charts, and other applied statistical methods.
• Experience developing process FMEAs, control plans, SOPs, qualification plans, or manufacturing-readiness documentation.
• Experience establishing yield, scrap, cycle time, throughput, and cost baselines for new processes.
• Experience with advanced manufacturing, additive manufacturing, ceramics, photopolymer processing, investment casting, metals processing, or related technologies.
• Experience working in an R&D or startup environment where equipment, process definitions, and technical requirements are changing rapidly.
• Familiarity with manufacturing readiness or technology readiness frameworks and the transition from prototype capability to repeatable production.

Additional requirements

• Must be able to work onsite in El Segundo, CA.
• Must be able to work extended hours and/or weekends as needed.

Compensation

Please note that the salary information shown below is a general guideline. Salaries are based on demonstrated candidate experience and qualifications, as well as market and business considerations.

• L1-L2 and L3: $108,000-$154,000 annually, depending on level and qualifications, plus equity.

Benefits

Rangeview offers a competitive benefits package, including equity, unlimited PTO, medical, dental, and vision insurance.