Manufacturing Design Engineer
Changsha, Hunan, China
Operations and Supply Chain
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Description
The Apple Manufacturing Design Materials Process Engineer is accountable for leading the development and implementation of high precision and consistent material manufacturing processes across Apple’s worldwide supply base. In this highly visible hands-on role, you will have direct frequent communication and collaboration with Apple Industrial Design, Product Design, and Manufacturing Design partners, as well as our worldwide suppliers. The MD Materials Process Engineer role is empowered and expected to bring creativity to Apple’s manufacturing approach, enabling us to deliver our best work to as many customers as possible!
You will lead the creation, evaluation, and implementation of end-to-end manufacturing solutions for primary metal - aluminum - used as the building blocks of Apple’s products. You will collaborate closely with cross-functional stakeholders in Quality Engineering, Global Supply Management, Product Design, and Industrial Design in order to ensure our manufacturing solutions meet our product quality, cost, yield, capacity, schedule, cosmetic and environmental goals.
YOU WILL BE EXPECTED TO:
- Work with equipment suppliers and alloy vendors to develop and implement large scale Al induction melting technology and processes
- Develop induction melting furnace technology for Aluminum with a range of recycling percentages and alloy grades.
- Develop induction melting furnace operation procedures and guidelines with both process and quality control.
- Develop safety procedure of induction melting furnace.
- Develop custom material characterization techniques using both industry standard and novel test instruments.
- Create failure and root cause analysis strategies and manage implementation at supplier sites and third-party laboratories.
- Drive cross functional efforts to resolve challenging cosmetic and mechanical issues created by interaction of downstream processes with the material
You may be asked to lead development in one or more of the following areas:
- Lead cross functional efforts to meet Apple’s industry leading environmental initiatives.
- Collaborate with external vendors to ensure best in class practices across our primary metal supply chain
- Design process improvement or process mapping DOEs to fully understand material and vendor performance
- Analyze compositional performance and influences from casting on final product yield and performance
- Evaluate environmental, product and industrial design goals to understand the process, materials and functional priorities for the product
- Collaborate with Apple cross-functional teams to align on a manufacturing development strategy with clear goals, deliverables, and schedules
- Identify and validate suitable fabrication equipment and processes to meet all Apple design and operational requirements
- Develop and document processes including all parameters, consumables and secondary operation requirements to meet defined specifications
- Conduct process optimization DOE’s, using data-driven and hands-on approaches together to find solutions to complex challenges
- Communicate ongoing process development status to cross-functional teams and lead discussions to align design requirements with manufacturing capability
- Provide leadership at global manufacturing sites during development and production ramp, identifying root causes of open issues and driving corrective actions to timely resolution
Apple is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to inclusion and diversity. We take affirmative action to ensure equal opportunity for all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, Veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. Apple is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to applicants with physical and mental disabilities. Apple is a drug-free workplace.
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor degree or equivalent experience in metallurgy, materials science, mechanical engineering with materials emphasis, or related fields required, advanced graduate degrees preferred.
- Available to travel internationally and domestically on a frequent basis.
- Proficiency in English and Mandarin, with ability to clearly explain abstract concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
Key Qualifications
Preferred Qualifications
- 5+ years of experience in primary aluminum metal production, materials characterization, and manufacturing engineering of metal components using aluminum alloys.
- Able to apply core principles of Design of Experiment, Material Characterization, Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing, and Statistical Process Control
- Utilizes a hands-on approach to engineering and problem-solving
- Employs project management tools to effectively plan and track work to completion; diligent and reliable in executing tasks independently
- Industry experience of aluminum melting, casting, rolling and extrusion processes, and aluminum recycling processes.
- Experience working with highly cosmetic parts or products is preferred
- Experience on the shop floor, in a hobby or professional context, is preferred
- Strong technical writing skills, able to clearly and persuasively communicate complex topics and adapt to suit the intended audience via emails, presentations, and letter formats.
- Demonstrates commitment and tenacity, a self-starter who learns quickly and adapts to find new solutions in the face of adversity