Electronics Manufacturing Engineer: FPY, NPI & CM Liaison

Job Summary :
We are looking for a hands-on Electronics Manufacturing Engineer to own the electronics production process from prototype through high-volume manufacturing. You will bridge design and production by supporting PCB design, building and maintaining test infrastructure, understanding device firmware, troubleshooting issues on the line, and serving as the primary technical liaison with our contract manufacturers. This role is critical for ensuring high yield, quality, and scalability while driving root-cause analysis and corrective actions on any production failures.

You will collaborate closely with R&D, operations, and manufacturing teams to release new products, optimize throughput, and integrate systems with our core business platforms.

Company Overview :
Metron is a leading provider of AI-enabled smart water management solutions. We provide the hardware and "Water Scope" software required to monitor water usage, identify costly leaks, and transform how public utilities and real estate sectors manage their most precious resource. Join us in our mission to save billions of gallons of water through ingenuity and dedication.

Key Responsibilities

• Perform basic circuit design, PCB schematic capture, layout for manufacturing test fixtures, production aids, and minor product enhancements that reduce cost, improve reliability, and improve throughput.
• Design, build, debug, and maintain manufacturing test fixtures, automated test equipment (ATE), and functional test systems to support production and quality assurance.
• Develop and maintain a thorough understanding of the Device Under Test (DUT) and its firmware, including boot sequences, diagnostics, communication protocols, and failure modes.
• Troubleshoot complex electronics issues that arise during manufacturing, including component-level failures, assembly defects, and intermittent problems.
• Act as the primary technical liaison with contract manufacturers (CMs) for PCBA (Printed Circuit Board Assembly) and DFM (Design for Manufacturability) reviews; collaborate on design feedback, process optimization, and issue resolution. Define process requirements, establish IPC-A-610 workmanship standards, conduct regular quality audits, and drive continuous yield improvements through structured supplier engagement and corrective action programs.
• Lead root-cause analysis (RCA) on production failures using structured problem-solving methods (8D, 5-Why, Fishbone, etc.) and implement corrective and preventive actions (CAPA).
• Support new product introductions (NPI) by reviewing designs for manufacturability, creating test plans, and validating fixtures and processes prior to production ramp.
• Monitor production yields, failure paretos, and test data to drive continuous improvement projects to increase first-pass yield and reduce cycle time and cost.
• Create and maintain manufacturing documentation, including test procedures, work instructions, and engineering change orders (ECOs).
• Work closely with cross-functional teams (Hardware Design, Firmware, Quality, Supply Chain, and Operations) to resolve issues quickly and prevent recurrence. Collaborate with R&D teams to transition new products from prototype to manufacturing, ensuring design for manufacturability (DFM) principles are applied to electromechanical assemblies.
• Ingest, normalize, and analyze test result data produced by Metron’s functional test equipment at our CMs. Leveraging AI and machine learning tools, build and maintain analytics dashboards that surface first-pass yield (FPY), failure Pareto by structured reason codes, and trend signals to drive targeted corrective actions and measure the impact of process changes.
• Work with operations and manufacturing teams to identify bottlenecks, improve overall throughput, and expand production capacity through process optimization and automation.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical or Electronics Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering Technology, or a related field; advanced degree preferred.
• 5+ years of experience in manufacturing engineering, preferably in the IoT, electronics, or consumer hardware sectors.
• Strong background in electromechanical integration, with hands-on experience in assembling and testing integrated systems. High preference for automation experience.
• Demonstrated expertise in design for manufacturing (DFM) principles.
• Working knowledge of PCBA manufacturing processes (SMT, reflow, wave/selective solder, AOI, X-ray) and IPC-A-610 acceptability standards, applied in a supplier oversight capacity—including conducting process audits, reviewing CM quality data, and driving corrective actions at external manufacturing partners.
• Proven experience designing and building functional test equipment including defining test coverage, pass/fail criteria, and parametric limits; experience deploying test systems to external sites and developing operator training materials and SOPs to qualify non-engineering personnel on test equipment operation and basic…