Manufacturing Engineer

Manufacturing Engineer

Location: Sturbridge, MA

Salary: $120,000

Job Type: Direct Hire

Position Summary

This company is seeking a hands-on Manufacturing Engineer to support electrical testing, troubleshooting, and production of Microchannel Plates (MCPs), Channeltrons, and Advanced Performance Detectors (APDs). This role is highly hardware-focused and operates directly on the factory floor within an ISO 7 cleanroom environment.

The engineer will ensure detector assemblies meet electrical, vacuum, and performance specifications while supporting daily production operations, yield improvement initiatives, and test capability continuity during high-priority manufacturing situations. This position also plays a key role in transitioning test processes from manual to semi-automated systems.

This is an ideal opportunity for an engineer who enjoys practical, high-voltage and high-vacuum hardware work and is eager to learn specialized detector technologies.

Candidates with backgrounds in semiconductor manufacturing, vacuum systems, photonics, electron-optical components, or other high-voltage precision industries are strongly encouraged to apply.

Key Responsibilities

Electrical Testing & Data Integrity

• Perform electrical testing of MCPs, Channeltrons, and full detector assemblies.
• Operate and maintain high-vacuum systems (10⁻⁷ to 10⁻⁶ Torr).
• Ensure data integrity and promptly escalate anomalies.
• Analyze test results to verify conformance to electrical and performance specifications.

Troubleshooting & Failure Analysis

• Diagnose electrical and mechanical issues in detector assemblies.
• Perform full mechanical and electrical teardowns.
• Investigate failure modes including:
• Low gain
• Electrical shorts
• Vacuum leaks
• Contamination
• Alignment issues
• Component damage

Manufacturing & Production Support

• Provide daily cleanroom production support.
• Respond quickly to time-critical manufacturing issues.
• Improve manufacturing yields and reduce scrap through process and product enhancements.
• Track, analyze, and report yield, scrap, and defect trends.
• Develop and update work instructions and technical documentation.
• Train operators and new engineers on testing and teardown procedures.
• Support multiple product lines as business needs require (occasional off-shift support may be necessary).

Process Control & Continuous Improvement

• Utilize MINITAB for basic SPC, trend analysis, and yield monitoring.
• Support Lean Manufacturing, 5S, and SPC initiatives.
• Promote adherence to the ISO 9001 Quality Management System.
• Identify opportunities to improve test repeatability, throughput, and data capture.
• Assist with BOM development, routings, tooling, and cost estimation for new and existing products.

Equipment & Test Fixture Support

• Maintain and configure:
• High-voltage power supplies
• Vacuum controllers and turbopumps
• Electrometers and oscilloscopes
• Custom fixtures and tooling
• Modify or create temporary test setups to maintain production continuity.

About the Product – Advanced Performance Detector (APD)

The APD is a precision detector assembly used in mass spectrometry applications. It includes components such as an anode, phosphor screen, time-of-flight detector (TOF), and a glass wafer containing millions of micron-sized bias-angled channels. Within each channel, electron collisions amplify weak input signals to generate measurable outputs.

The Manufacturing Engineer plays a key role in ensuring consistent electrical performance and on-time delivery of these high-performance detector systems.

Required Qualifications

• U.S. Citizenship required (ITAR compliance).
• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Materials, Physics, or related engineering field.
• Hands-on experience with high voltage, high vacuum systems, precision instrumentation, or cleanroom manufacturing.
• Strong mechanical aptitude and comfort working directly with hardware daily.
• Proven ability to methodically troubleshoot electrical and mechanical systems.
• Proficiency with MS Office; familiarity with MRP/database systems and analytical software.
• Ability to learn specialized detector physics and test methodologies.
• Comfortable working in an ISO 7 cleanroom with required PPE.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in semiconductor fabrication, photonics, vacuum systems, or electron optics.
• Exposure to SPC tools and MINITAB.
• Familiarity with high-voltage power supplies, vacuum chambers, turbopumps, and electrometers.
• Experience assembling/disassembling delicate electro-mechanical components.
• Understanding of gain behavior and noise mechanisms in electron-multiplying devices (e.g., PMTs, MCPs, avalanche detectors).

Work Environment

• 100% on-site in Sturbridge, MA.
• ISO 7 cleanroom environment requiring gowning and contamination control procedures.
• Work with high-voltage and high-vacuum systems (safety training provided).
• Primarily day shift with occasional off-shift support for urgent manufacturing needs.
• PPE such as gloves, hearing protection, and safety glasses may be required.