Senior Process Engineer

Senior Process Engineer San Diego, CA

Manufacturing

In office

Full-time

Cable and harness is where aircraft programs quietly lose schedule. The design is released, the wire list looks fine, and then the first build takes three times as long as anyone planned, the second one comes out different, and nobody can say exactly why. This role exists so that doesn't happen here.

As a Senior Process Engineer for cable and harness, you own the process from the first prototype bundle to a supplier building at rate. You'll develop and prove the process in-house during NPI — wire prep, crimp, termination, shield termination, backshells, overmold — then package it and stand it up at a harness supplier without losing the detail in the handoff. RF assemblies are supplier-built; you own the process and the technical oversight, and you review test criteria with engineering rather than building those yourself.

This is a bench job as much as a planning job. You'll be at the formboard during first builds finding out where your process was wrong, and you'll be at a supplier's facility making sure the way they run it matches the way you wrote it. You'll also own the test side: continuity, hipot, and insulation resistance for non-RF assemblies, including the fixtures and adapter cables that make it work.

The processes and tooling you build here travel. What you develop gets transferred, so write it for someone who wasn't in the room.

We're hiring at the mid or senior level depending on experience. Senior candidates will own supplier transfers end to end from day one. Mid-level candidates will own in-house process and test, and grow into transfer ownership.

What You'll Do

Develop cable and harness manufacturing processes for prototype and early production: wire prep, crimp, termination, shield and braid termination, backshell and strain relief, overmold and potting, breakout and routing

Author manufacturing planning and documentation — work instructions, formboard layouts, wire lists, MBOMs, routings, and travelers — and keep them current as the configuration moves

Establish and hold process controls: crimp height and pull-test sampling plans, tool verification and calibration intervals, cure and cycle parameters, and ESD controls

Design, source, build, and prove out tooling and fixtures: formboards, crimp tooling and positioners, hold-downs, pull-test setups, and overmold tooling

Own non-RF harness electrical test, including test programs, adapter cables, fixtures, and failure disposition with engineering

Review RF cable assembly test criteria with engineering, flow them to suppliers, and assess incoming test data and CoCs against what was specified

Build the manufacturing data package for source transfer and own the transition plan: timeline, tooling duplication or shipment, operator training, dual-source strategy, and the criteria that close out in-house build

Lead supplier process qualification, first article, on-site audits, and build readiness reviews, and serve as the technical point of contact for supplier escapes, deviations, and changes. Hold suppliers to the documented process, not to a phone call

Provide specific, actionable DFM and DFT feedback to electrical design: connector selection, wire and jacket callouts, service loops, breakout geometry, labeling, and harness segmentation for build and field repair

Perform capacity analysis, takt and line balance, and floor layout for in-house prototype and pilot cells, and validate supplier capacity against rate demand

Lead RCCA on process escapes and field returns, with effectiveness verified, whether the escape is ours or a supplier's. Drive improvement in yield, cycle time, scrap, and rework, and support MRB disposition

Train technicians to the documented method and confirm they can execute it. Where the method is wrong, fix the method

Uphold 5S, FOD and ESD control, and shop safety daily, and hold others to the same standard

Perform other duties as directed

Required Qualifications

Bachelors degree in Mechanical, Industrial or Electrical Engineering or equivalent degree. In lieu of a degree 10+ years of progressive relevant experience

'U.S. Person' as defined by 22 CFR § 120.62 required due to ITAR regulations, which includes U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (Green Card holders), or protected individuals under asylee or refugee status

5+ years of manufacturing or process engineering, with hands-on depth in cable, harness, or electromechanical assembly

Experience in crimp and termination processes and rugged connector families — circular MIL-spec, micro-D, D-sub, RF/coax — including shield and braid termination

Working knowledge of IPC/WHMA-A-620 and J-STD-001, and the ability to apply and defend acceptance criteria on the floor

Experience taking a product from prototype into production

Harness test development for non-RF assemblies: continuity and hipot systems, fixture and adapter design, and test program creation

Proven RCCA capability using structured problem solving, with evidence of preventive action rather than containment only

Fluent with schematics, wire lists, interconnect diagrams, and mechanical drawings including GD&T

Practical command of lean principles: standard work, line balancing, and cell layout

Familiarity with PLM, ERP, and MES systems and the handoff between them

Comfortable working in the gap between engineering and production, able to hold a technical position with engineers while staying credible with technicians

Preferred Qualifications

Demonstrated experience transferring a process to an external supplier: data package development, process qualification, and first article at source

Ownership of a product through a full production ramp, including a capacity model, line layout, or rate readiness plan you personally built

Active Secret clearance

Hands-on RF cable assembly or RF test experience, or working knowledge of RF test methods sufficient to evaluate supplier data

Mixed-commodity background: cable plus mechanical or electronics assembly

UAV, experimental aircraft, or low-volume/high-mix aerospace experience, ideally at a company moving from prototype to rate

Experience with automated wire process

ing equipment and harness design tools with 3D-to-formboard flattening

Overmolding, potting, and environmental sealing process development

A continuous improvement project with quantified results, or formal Lean or Six Sigma training

AS9100 environment, FAI/AS9102, and supplier quality experience

IPC/WHMA-A-620 CIS or CIT certification

CAD proficiency sufficient to model and detail tooling

Who We Are

At Firestorm, we're building toward a future defined by incontestable defense logistics. That means equipping warfighters with mission-critical capabilities at the point of need. Not in months, not from a depot halfway around the world, but now, in the field, on demand.

We're a VC-backed defense technology company pioneering an expeditionary manufacturing ecosystem that produces and sustains