Supplier Industrialization Engineer - PCBA/TLA

About the Role

Zipline is expanding its life-saving technology's reach from tens to hundreds of millions of people. To achieve this, we require a Supplier Industrialization Engineer (SIE) with extensive PCBA knowledge to spearhead supplier quality, development, and manufacturing excellence. You will play a crucial role in supplier selection, qualification, process control, and automation, collaborating closely with Engineering, Supply Chain, and Manufacturing teams.

This high-impact role will allow you to shape Zipline's supply ecosystem, enhance manufacturing processes, and elevate supplier quality through continuous improvement.

What You'll Do

• Perform Design for Manufacturing (DfM) on PCBAs and Top Level Assembly (TLA) and provide design guidance to Engineering Teams.
• Drive Contract Manufacturers (CM) on quality, responsiveness, and process efficiency
• Own and be responsible for field quality failures through Supplier Corrective Action Requests (SCARs)
• Participate in supplier quotations by acting as the technical expert and providing the expert knowledge on PCBA and TLA line layout, setup and cost targets.
• Determine and manage production line layout capacity by balancing cycle time and driving process flow changes.
• Audit and improve suppliers onsite to meet Zipline requirements.
• Deploy and monitor statistical quality control (SPC) methodologies, ensuring data-driven decision-making and process stability.
• Ensure compliance with IPC, ISO, and automotive/aerospace standards (e.g., IPC-A-600, IPC-A-610, J-STD-001, AS9100, IATF16949).
• Act as the critical-to-quality (CTQ) leadership during New Product Introductions (NPIs) at suppliers sites.
• International travel (up to 35%) is required to engage with manufacturing partners, sometimes on short notice. 

What You’ll Bring

• 3+ years of experience in Supplier Quality, Supplier Development, or Manufacturing Engineering, with a strong focus on PCB/PCBA manufacturing.
• Expertise in PCBA and TLA production processes, including SMT, through-hole soldering, reflow, AOI, ICT, and conformal coating.
• Experience working with CMs for PCB and PCBA assembly (FPC/FPCA is a plus).
• Knowledge of IPC and ISO standards (certification as internal auditor is a plus)
• Proven success in supplier audits, APQP, PPAP, PFMEA, SPC, and supplier selection & monitoring.
• Hands-on experience in root cause analysis & corrective actions (8D, 5-Whys, Pareto, Fishbone).
• Strong DFM experience for PCBAs, proficiency in Gerber viewers.
• Ability to troubleshoot PCBA failures and work with suppliers to improve yield and defect reduction
• Understanding of GD&T.
• Experience leading supplier process validation, including EOL testing and first article qualification.
• Strong experience with data analytics tools (JMP, Minitab, R, etc.) to drive process improvement.
• Success implementing automation/new tech with suppliers to improve efficiency and quality.
• Success optimizing test and inspection strategies, including driving requirements for automated End of Line EOL testing.

Why Join Zipline?

At Zipline, we’re revolutionizing logistics and using advanced technology to deliver critical supplies globally. As a Supplier Industrialization Engineer specializing in PCBA, you will play a pivotal role in scaling our next-generation electronics with best-in-class quality and efficiency. If you’re excited about pushing supplier development and manufacturing processes to the next level, we’d love to hear from you! 

What else you need to know

This role is an in-person role, based out of our South San Francisco HQ. Must be eligible to work in the US and travel globally 30-40% of the time as needed. The starting cash range for this role is $130,000 - $190,000. Please note that this is a target, starting cash range for a candidate who meets the minimum qualifications for this role. The final cash pay for this role will depend on a variety of factors, including a specific candidate's experience, qualifications, skills, working location, and projected impact. The total compensation package for this role may also include: equity compensation; overtime pay; discretionary annual or performance bonuses; sales incentives; benefits such as medical, dental and vision insurance; paid time off; and more.

Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws or our own sensibilities.

We value diversity at Zipline and welcome applications from those who are traditionally underrepresented in tech. If you like the sound of this position but are not sure if you are the perfect fit, please apply!