Product Engineer

We are seeking a Product Engineer 4 / Supplier Engineer - Ceramics & Coatings
. In this highly visible role, you'll serve as the technical lead for critical ceramic and coating suppliers, driving supplier qualifications, material risk mitigation, quality improvements, and supply continuity initiatives supporting advanced semiconductor products.

• Work on cutting-edge semiconductor technologies that drive the future of the industry.
• Partner with world-class ceramic, coating, and advanced materials suppliers.
• Lead high-impact initiatives critical to manufacturing continuity and product innovation.
• Collaborate with engineering, supply chain, quality, manufacturing, and executive leadership teams.
• Influence strategic supplier and technology decisions across global operations.

This position puts you at the center of solving complex material and supplier challenges affecting critical semiconductor technologies. You'll lead supplier recovery efforts, qualify alternate materials and suppliers, drive process improvements, and ensure manufacturing readiness for advanced ceramic and coating components essential to production success.

Acara is a premier recruiting and workforce solutions provider-we help companies compete for talent. With a legacy of experience in various industries worldwide, we partner with clients, listen to their needs, and customize visionary talent solutions that drive desired business outcomes. We leverage decades of experience to deliver contingent staffing, direct placement, executive search, and workforce services worldwide.

• Serve as the Supplier Engineering single point of contact (SPOC) for critical ceramic and coating suppliers.
• Lead technical efforts related to material shortages, supplier recovery plans, and supply continuity initiatives.
• Drive cross-functional execution from risk identification through containment, qualification, validation, and production implementation.
• Develop and align qualification plans, acceptance criteria, testing requirements, and change management activities with Product Groups.
• Lead supplier technical reviews focused on manufacturing capability, capacity, process controls, and production readiness.
• Evaluate supplier manufacturing processes including forming, sintering, machining, grinding, polishing, coating, and finishing operations.
• Resolve supplier quality issues using structured problem-solving methodologies including 8D, PSDMP, FMEA, and 5-Why analysis.
• Conduct root-cause investigations and drive corrective and preventive actions.
• Maintain material risk dashboards, project trackers, qualification roadmaps, and executive-level reporting.
• Communicate supplier risks, technical findings, recommendations, and trade-offs to cross-functional teams and leadership.
• Support supplier audits, qualifications, technology transfers, and continuous improvement programs.

• Master's degree in Materials Science, Ceramic Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical discipline with 5+ years of relevant experience; OR
• PhD in Materials Science, Ceramic Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field with 3+ years of relevant experience.
• 5+ years of experience in supplier engineering, product engineering, manufacturing engineering, quality engineering, or advanced materials development.
• 3+ years of experience working with ceramic manufacturing processes including forming, sintering, machining, grinding, polishing, or finishing operations.
• 3+ years of experience supporting thermal spray coating technologies and materials such as alumina, yttria (yttrium oxide), and rare-earth oxide…