Manufacturing Process Engineer

The Xerox Printhead Manufacturing group develops and produces state-of-the-art industrial inkjet printheads for internal and OEM customers worldwide. We are seeking an experienced Manufacturing Engineer to own and continuously improve our gold electroplating operations while supporting development of next-generation printhead products.

Position Summary

The Manufacturing Engineer will partner with the plating engineering team to sustain and improve critical gold electroplating and cleaning processes used in industrial inkjet printhead manufacturing. Working collaboratively with another plating engineer, this role will share responsibility for process performance, yield improvement, defect reduction, equipment upgrades, and development of next-generation manufacturing technologies.

The successful candidate combines strong manufacturing engineering fundamentals with a hands-on approach to troubleshooting, process control, and continuous improvement in a production environment.

Responsibilities

Shared Process Ownership

• Partner with the plating engineering team to maintain and continuously improve gold electroplating and associated cleaning processes.
• Share responsibility for process capability, yield, quality, throughput, and manufacturing cost performance.
• Monitor and optimize critical process parameters including bath chemistry, filtration, agitation, current density, rack design, and operating conditions.
• Develop and maintain process control strategies to ensure consistent manufacturing performance.
• Investigate plating defects, process excursions, and product quality issues using structured problem-solving methodologies.

Technical Leadership

• Collaborate with fellow plating engineers, technicians, and operators to drive process improvements and manufacturing excellence.
• Contribute technical expertise toward the development and implementation of next-generation plating technologies.
• Support design and improvement of fixtures, racks, masking methods, and process tooling.
• Develop and maintain process documentation, operating procedures, specifications, and training materials.
• Provide technical support and training to manufacturing personnel.

Manufacturing & Capital Projects

• Lead or support capital and continuous-improvement projects involving plating tanks, rectifiers, filtration systems, ovens, automation, and process controls.
• Work closely with maintenance, facilities, quality, supply chain, and equipment vendors to implement improvements.
• Support qualification, validation, and startup of new equipment and manufacturing processes.

Quality, Compliance & Safety

• Apply SPC, DOE, and data-driven methodologies to improve process capability and reduce variation.
• Support compliance with ISO quality and environmental management systems.
• Promote safe operation of electroplating equipment and chemical-processing systems.
• Participate in audits, corrective actions, and continuous-improvement initiatives.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related discipline.
• 5+ years of manufacturing experience supporting electroplating, metal finishing, surface treatment, or similar chemical processes.
• Strong understanding of process control, process validation, statistical analysis, and manufacturing problem solving.
• Demonstrated experience troubleshooting production processes and implementing corrective actions.
• Ability to work effectively on the manufacturing floor and communicate technical information to operators, engineers, management, and customers.
• Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with gold, nickel, copper, or precious-metal plating processes.
• Experience with SPC, DOE, PFMEA, and process qualification methodologies.
• Knowledge of surface preparation, cleaning, and wet-process manufacturing.
• Experience leading capital equipment projects.
• Working knowledge of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 systems.
• Chemical Engineering degree.

What Success Looks Like

Within your first year, you will:

• Become a key contributor to the plating engineering team.
• Establish strong working relationships with operators, technicians, and cross-functional partners.
• Identify and implement meaningful yield, quality, or productivity improvements within plating operations.
• Lead at least one significant process or equipment improvement initiative.
• Develop sufficient technical expertise to share responsibility for sustaining and advancing Xerox's gold plating processes.