Senior Manufacturing Engineer

Photo-Sonics, Inc. is an international leader in state-of-the art optical tracking systems in Chatsworth and has an immediate opening for a Senior Manufacturing Engineer.

We are seeking an experienced Senior Manufacturing Engineer to join our Production Control team to support production scaling from prototype to low-volume full rate production for our optical tracking mount systems. Beyond scaling up production, this Manufacturing Engineer will focus on implementing manufacturing best practices and continuous improvement initiatives. This role is highly cross-functional and focuses on enabling predictable production flow, supporting schedule execution, and bridging engineering, materials, and shop floor operations - especially in a prototype-to-production environment.

This position reports directly under Production Control leadership and is a critical role in translating engineering intent into executable manufacturing plans.

Responsibilities include but not limited to:

Production Support & Execution

• Identify and implement industry manufacturing best practices to scale up production.
• Support production schedules by ensuring manufacturing processes, routings, and work instructions are production-ready.
• Act as a technical liaison between Production Control, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, and Engineering.
• Support daily production execution by resolving manufacturing issues that impact schedule, quality, or throughput.
• Participate in production meetings to assess risks, constraints, and mitigation actions.
• Support product design through project lifecycle, from initial concept design through systems analysis/engineering, planning and execution within program budget and timelines
• Coordinate design reviews to ensure designs meets customer requirements (functional and performance)
• Develop designs to meet high quality standard and ease of manufacturing, assembly and test
• Support outsourcing analysis and decisions
• Support system design, integration and test efforts
• Support product transition to Operations and sustaining efforts
• Collaborate with system, electrical engineering on acceptance, qualification and factory test planning, procedure and assembly methodology

Process & Documentation

• Develop, maintain, and improve manufacturing processes, routings, travelers, and work instructions.
• Ensure BOMs, routings, and manufacturing documentation align with ERP/MRP requirements.
• Support engineering change (ECNs) implementation with minimal disruption to production flow.
• Assist with standard work definition and repeatability as programs transition from prototype to production.

Flow & Continuous Improvement

• Identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and process variation impacting delivery performance.
• Drive root cause analysis for schedule misses, rework, scrap, and labor overruns.
• Support lean initiatives focused on flow, cycle time reduction, and work-in-process control.
• Partner with Production Control to improve plan stability and execution predictability.

Quality & Compliance Support

• Conduct defects analysis and implement processes to reduce and/or eliminate defects/reworks.
• Support first article builds, in-process inspections, and corrective action implementation.
• Ensure manufacturing processes comply with quality system requirements.
• Assist with supplier and internal process validation as needed.
• Develop and maintain the continuous improvement of department’s technical standards, design guidelines, practices and procedures

Experience and Requirements:

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing, Mechanical, Industrial, Electrical Engineering, or related field.

Experience:

• 10+ years of experience in manufacturing engineering or production-focused roles.
• Experience supporting production schedules in a high-mix, low-volume or prototype environment.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing documentation, routings, and ERP/MRP systems.
• Hands-on experience with mechanical and/or electro-mechanical assembly.
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to work across multiple teams.
• Clear communicator who is comfortable working directly with shop supervisors and planners.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working closely with Production Control, Master Scheduling, or Materials teams.
• Demonstrated ability and experience working with product development engineering teams.
• Experience supporting prototype builds transitioning into early production.
• Lean manufacturing or continuous improvement experience.
• · Ability to interact with all levels of personnel and to promote collaboration and timely completion of milestones.
• Support product design activities through all phases of projects, from initial concept design through systems analysis/engineering, project planning/execution and reviews
• Support designing both large and small high precision mechanical systems as part of an overall opto-electro-mechanical system.
• Support packaging electronics boards, harnessing, and COTS electronics components for applications in harsh environments and tight packaging constraints.
• Experience with imaging camera and lens optical system mechanical and system integration desired
• Familiarity with thermal analysis and heat transfer principals for electronics packaging
• Utilize SolidWorks for design and drafting and SolidWorks Simulation tools for system analysis.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and review component drawings utilizing GD&T, per ASME Y14.5, and assembly drawings and associated engineering drawings.
• Demonstrated ability to perform tolerance stack calculations.
• Familiarity of engineering change control processes (ECN’s), SolidWorks PDM
• Professional experience desired.
• Possess strong written and verbal business communication, excellent problem solving and organizational skills.
• Working knowledge of Military standards and compliance rules and regulations mandated under the following quality and governmental standards.
• Physical Requirements of this position requires ability to walk, sit, talk, see, stand, use hands, reach, some lifting.

Physical Requirements include:

• Physical Requirements of this position requires ability to walk, sit, talk, see, stand, use hands, reach, some lifting.