Senior Manufacturing Engineer

Senior Manufacturing Engineer

Overview: Brooks Automation / Precise Collaborative Robot Group

Brooks Automation, a leading automation company valued at $1 billion, specializes in the production of semiconductor robots. With the recent acquisition of Precise, Brooks has expanded its capabilities to include collaborative robots. Precise has developed a line of "Collaborative" robots that possess the unique ability to work alongside humans without causing harm in the event of a collision. This technology places collaborative robotics at the forefront of the rapidly growing robot market.

In addition to manufacturing robots, Precise also offers worldwide sales of robots, controls, and machine vision systems. Since 2021, Precise has been an integral part of Brooks Automation.

We are seeking a hands-on Senior Manufacturing Process Engineer to establish, control, and continuously improve the mechanical manufacturing processes. The primary focus of this role is process engineering: translating design requirements into capable, repeatable, measurable, and scalable production processes.

The Senior Manufacturing Process Engineer will own the technical health of mechanical manufacturing processes including DDM automation cells mechanical assembly, precision alignment, inspection, and test operations. The role will define critical process parameters, develop process controls, analyze variation, lead process validation, and improve yield, capability, throughput, and reliability. This individual will work closely with Production, Quality, Design Engineering, Maintenance, and Supply Chain, while remaining accountable for process performance and process discipline on the manufacturing floor.

This role includes three major areas of responsibility:

Precision Mechanical Assembly Process Development and Industrialization: Develop and qualify manufacturing processes for new and existing Direct Drive Motor products and other precision mechanical components including die castings, extrusions, and machined parts. Translate product requirements and critical-to-quality characteristics into process requirements, equipment specifications, tooling, work methods, inspection strategies, and acceptance criteria. Lead process readiness through pilot builds, validation, launch, transfer, production scale-up, and long-term manufacturing performance.

Process Control and Sustaining Engineering: Serve as the technical owner for assigned processes. Establish process windows, control plans, reaction plans, standard work, and escalation criteria. Use production data and structured problem solving to reduce variation, resolve process-related defects, and sustain safety, quality, delivery, and cost performance. This role supports production issues, but is not intended to function primarily as daily line-support engineering.

Process Capability and Continuous Improvement: Apply statistical methods, Lean principles, and Six Sigma tools to improve process capability, yield, cycle time, scrap, throughput, equipment effectiveness, and labor efficiency. Prioritize systemic improvements that eliminate recurring issues and reduce dependence on inspection, rework, and operator judgment.

WHAT YOU'LL DO:

• Own, develop, and continuously improvemanufacturing processes, with near term emphasis on DDM purchased-coil installation, bonding, mechanical assembly, precision alignment, inspection, and functional test operations.
• Define critical process inputs, outputs, parameters, tolerances, process windows, and acceptance criteria based on product and design requirements.
• Develop process flow diagrams, PFMEAs, control plans, standard work, work instructions, reaction plans, and process specifications.
• Plan and execute process characterization, capability studies, measurement system analysis, designed experiments, and process validation activities.
• Use statistical process control and production data to monitor variation, identify special causes, and improve process capability and stability.
• Lead root-cause investigations for process-related defects, yield loss, scrap, rework, and recurring production interruptions; implement and verify sustainable corrective actions.
• Specify, select, qualify, and improve manufacturing equipment, fixtures, tooling, automation, inspection methods, and test systems.
• Partner with Design Engineering during NPI to drive DFM/DFA, tolerance alignment, manufacturability, and process readiness before release to production.
• Lead manufacturing process transfer, pilot builds, production qualification, and scale-up activities for local and overseas manufacturing where applicable.
• Establish and monitor process KPIs, including first-pass yield, defect and scrap rates, cycle time, throughput, process capability, and equipment effectiveness.
• Drive improvements that reduce process variation, manual dependency, inspection burden, and total manufacturing cost while protecting product performance and reliability.
• Train production personnel, technicians, and engineers on process requirements, critical parameters, standard work, and process-control expectations.
• Manage process changes through documented risk assessment, validation, configuration control, and formal change-management practices.

WHAT YOU'LL BRING:

• Bachelor's Degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Minimum of 7 years of manufacturing process engineering or process-development experience in a precision electromechanical, motor, automation, semiconductor-equipment, medical-device, or similarly controlled manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated experience serving as the technical owner of complex manufacturing processes through development, validation, launch, and sustained production.
• Experience creating and maintaining process flows, PFMEAs, control plans, standard work, work instructions, and reaction plans.
• Experience with structured root-cause and corrective-action methods such as 5 Why, fishbone analysis, fault-tree analysis, and 8D.
• Experience specifying or qualifying production equipment, tooling, fixtures, inspection methods, or automated processes.
• Demonstrated application of statistical methods, process capability analysis, statistical process control (SPC), measurement system analysis (MSA), design of experiments (DOE), process validation, and structured problem-solving methodologies in a manufacturing environment.
• Proven ability to use these tools to reduce variation, improve process capability, increase yield, and implement sustainable process improvements.
• Six Sigma Green Belt certification is preferred. Black Belt certification is a plus.
• Proficiency with SolidWorks and SolidWorks PDM.
• Experience with Agile is a plus.
• Strong hands-on troubleshooting, analytical, project-management, and cross-functional communication skills.
• Preferred experience:
  • Minimum of 10 years of relevant manufacturing process engineering experience is preferred.
  • Experience with direct-drive motor or precision electromechanical manufacturing processes.
  • Experience with precision assembly, automated or semi-automated equipment, traceability systems, and production data acquisition.
  • Experience improving a developing manufacturing process from operator-dependent execution to a documented, capable, and scalable production system.

Compensation

Factors which may affect starting pay within this range may include geography/market, skills, education, experience and other qualifications of the successful candidate.

This position is also eligible for an annual discretionary bonus.

Benefits

At Brooks, we offer the following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements:

• Medical, Dental, Vision and Disability Insurance

• 401(k) Plan

• Exempt employees are provided company paid holidays and Flexible Vacation to enjoy personal time off and incidental sickness.

Have a question about our benefits and compensation package? Your recruiter can share more with you during the hiring process.

Work Location & Flexibility
At Brooks, we aim to foster a collaborative and engaging environment while offering flexibility where possible. Work arrangements may include a mix of in-office and remote work, depending on the nature of the role and business needs. Specific expectations will be shared during the interview process.