Sr Staff Engineer – Advanced Manufacturing (Optics)

Greater San Diego Area, CA

Our client is an innovative technology organization advancing sophisticated products through modern development and manufacturing solutions. They are seeking a Sr Staff Engineer - Advanced Manufacturing (Optics) to turn ambitious R&D concepts into repeatable, scalable processes. This is a high-impact, hands-on opportunity for an experienced engineer who excels in complex technical environments and enjoys developing innovative solutions. You will experiment, solve complex process challenges, and help determine how emerging technologies move from prototype to production.

This Role Offers:

• Senior-level technical ownership with significant influence over how emerging opto-electronic technologies are built and industrialized.
• A hands-on innovation environment combining advanced R&D, experimentation, process development, and real-world manufacturing.
• Direct involvement in moving novel technologies from early prototypes toward scalable, repeatable production.
• Broad collaboration across R&D, process development, manufacturing engineering, and Operations without requiring people management.
• Competitive compensation and benefits, relocation support, and opportunities for continued technical or organizational leadership.

Focus:

• Lead packaging and process-development initiatives that transform early technical concepts into manufacturing-ready solutions.
• Translate high-level product objectives into practical package architectures, assembly approaches, equipment strategies, and development plans.
• Apply established technical methods to support innovative products and evolving manufacturing requirements.
• Develop processes with scalability, yield, reliability, repeatability, equipment capability, and production readiness in mind.
• Connect advanced R&D efforts with the engineers and operators responsible for successful manufacturing implementation.
• Plan and execute hands-on experiments, prototype builds, process characterization, troubleshooting, and optimization activities.
• Address complex technical and operational challenges to improve overall manufacturing performance and consistency.
• Support the transition of new processes and technologies into efficient, scalable production.
• Collaborate with operators, process engineers, manufacturing engineers, and Operations leaders to establish reliable production processes.

Skill Set:

• Deep experience in semiconductor or microelectronics packaging, advanced assembly, and process development.
• Strong practical expertise in advanced manufacturing methods, equipment, and technical assembly processes.
• Demonstrated success developing processes with manufacturing implementation, scale-up, or production transfer as an eventual objective.
• Proven ability to operate between exploratory R&D and disciplined manufacturing environments while building credibility with both technical and Operations teams.
• Strong ambiguity tolerance with the ability to define technical approaches and process architectures from high-level objectives.
• Experience applying established manufacturing methods to evolving products and technical requirements.
• Comfortable working hands-on across laboratory, prototyping, process-development, pilot-line, and manufacturing environments.
• Working knowledge of yield improvement, reliability, root-cause analysis, process qualification, equipment readiness, and production ramp.
• Specialized industry experience is preferred, though candidates with strong expertise in related technical areas will also be considered. Experience with DOE, Lean or Six Sigma, and technology transfer is also beneficial.

About Blue Signal:  

Blue Signal is an award-winning, executive search firm specializing in various specialties. Our recruiters have a proven track record of placing top-tier talent across industry verticals, with deep expertise in numerous professional services. Learn more at bit.ly/46Gs4yS