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Salary: USD 120,400 - 150,500 / annual
Archer Technologies, a Silicon Valley-based leader in advanced air mobility, is seeking a Senior Product Quality Engineer – Powertrain to join the Quality Engineering team in San Jose, CA. This is a high-ownership role focused on driving manufacturing quality and advanced process quality planning across battery, electric motor, and powertrain assembly lines.
You will serve as a key quality engineering contributor working hands-on with manufacturing engineers, technicians, and design teams. Your responsibilities will include:
**Manufacturing Line Support:** Act as the dedicated quality engineering resource for battery pack and electric powertrain assembly lines, resolving real-time production quality issues, non-conformances, and Material Review Board (MRB) dispositions.
**Advanced Quality Planning (APQP):** Lead process quality activities including development, execution, and updating of Process Failure Mode and Effects Analyses (PFMEAs), Control Plans, and Statistical Process Control (SPC) protocols for powertrain manufacturing.
**GD&T & Metrology Execution:** Apply ASME Y14.5 GD&T standards to review 2D engineering drawings and perform/verify physical dimensional inspections using metrology tools such as CMMs, articulated arms, laser trackers, and surface plate layouts.
**Root Cause & Corrective Action (RCCA):** Perform deep technical failure analyses on manufacturing defects, investigating process physics including spot welding issues, thermal runaway/containment factors, contamination, and corrosion.
**First Article & Process Validation:** Oversee product quality validation, vendor component integration, and AS19102 First Article Inspections (FAIs) for automated and semi-automated powertrain assembly equipment.
**Cross-Functional Collaboration:** Partner directly with Powertrain Design, Battery Manufacturing, and Supplier Quality teams to feed shop-floor quality data back into design and process improvement loops.
This role requires a technical engineer with a strong background in high-volume battery or electric vehicle manufacturing who excels at root-cause analysis and dimensional metrology.
**Requirements:**
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, Materials, or Automotive Engineering (or equivalent technical experience)
- 5+ years of hands-on quality or manufacturing engineering experience in battery, EV, or powertrain manufacturing environments
- Proven experience supporting high-volume automated manufacturing lines, battery pack assembly, electric motors, or power electronics
- Strong working knowledge of ASME Y14.5 GD&T standards, 2D technical drawings, and hands-on experience using dimensional metrology equipment (CMM, FARO/Romer arms, surface plates)
- Demonstrated expertise executing APQP tools, including PFMEAs, Control Plans, Measurement System Analysis (MSA), and RCCA/CAPA frameworks
- Experience navigating PLM, MES, and ERP platforms (e.g., Teamcenter, SAP) to author digital inspection plans and disposition quality notifications
- Ability to troubleshoot manufacturing process anomalies down to the root physical failure mechanism in a fast-paced environment
**Bonus Qualifications:**
- Prior experience at an EV OEM or Tier-1 supplier (e.g., battery pack assembly, automated module joining, or thermal interface material dispensing)
- Experience with AS9145 standards, PPAP production sign-offs, and design for manufacturing/assembly (DFM/DFA) principles
- ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) or Six Sigma Green/Black Belt certification
- Knowledge of metric-based automotive manufacturing practices, ISO/IATF 16949, or AS9100 quality management systems
