Manufacturing Engineer II

Hitachi · McMinnville

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Title: Manufacturing Engineer II

Company: Applied Physics Technologies (a Hitachi Group Company)

Location: McMinnville, OR

Status: Regular, Full-time

About Hitachi, Ltd. 

Through its Social Innovation Business (SIB) that brings together IT, OT (Operational Technology) and products, Hitachi aims to be a global leader in continuously transforming social infrastructure through digital, contributing to a harmonized society where the environment, wellbeing, and economic growth are in balance.  Hitachi operates worldwide across four sectors – Digital Systems & Services, Energy, Mobility, and Connective Industries – as well as a Strategic SIB Business Unit focused on new growth areas. With Lumada at its core, Hitachi creates value by combining data, technology and domain knowledge to solve customer and social challenges. Revenues for FY2025 (ended March 31, 2026) totaled 10,586.7 billion yen, with 606 consolidated subsidiaries and approximately 290,000 employees worldwide. Visit us at http://www.hitachi.com.

The Company

Applied Physics Technologies is a leading manufacturer of thermionic and field-emission cathodes and related electron-source assemblies. Located in the heart of Oregon’s wine country, APT combines the global reach and resources of Hitachi High-Tech with the close-knit culture and individual impact of a smaller, growing manufacturing company.

Our products incorporate specialized materials, high-vacuum processes, precision manufacturing, high-voltage conditioning, and exacting assembly and test requirements. Because our engineering and production teams work closely together, Manufacturing Engineers at APT have a direct and visible impact on product quality, delivery performance, manufacturing capability, and customer satisfaction. To learn move, visit http://www.a-p-tech.com/
 

Summary:

As a Manufacturing Engineer, you will be responsible for the technical health, reliability, and continuous improvement of assigned manufacturing processes. You will work directly with production personnel to diagnose process and equipment problems, restore production when interruptions occur, reduce recurring failures, and improve manufacturing safety, quality, delivery, productivity, and cost.

APT’s manufacturing processes include zone refining of boride materials and tungsten; micromachining and shaping of lanthanum hexaboride and cerium hexaboride crystals; Schottky emitter assembly; cathode and electron-gun module assembly; tungsten etching; high-voltage conditioning; and cathode and module testing.

The successful candidate will develop sufficient knowledge of these processes to serve as a dependable technical resource when problems arise. This requires strong engineering fundamentals, hands-on mechanical and electrical aptitude, experience with vacuum systems and high voltage, disciplined troubleshooting skills, and the ability to work calmly but urgently during line-down situations.

A Manufacturing Engineer will also identify and implement process improvements, develop and maintain manufacturing documentation, support the company’s Quality Management System, and help transfer new or modified products and processes into production.
 

Essential Responsibilities

Manufacturing Process Ownership

• Provide engineering support for complex manufacturing processes, equipment, materials, testing, and product assembly operations.

• Troubleshoot process, equipment, tooling, and product-performance issues using root cause analysis and corrective action methodologies.

• Respond to production disruptions, implement containment actions, and drive resolution while maintaining safety, quality, and compliance standards.

• Establish process controls, operating procedures, testing requirements, and reaction plans to ensure consistent production performance.

• Train and support production personnel on manufacturing processes, troubleshooting techniques, and process improvements.

Continuous Improvement

• Identify and implement opportunities to improve safety, quality, productivity, capacity, yield, and cost.

• Lead process improvement initiatives using engineering principles, data analysis, Lean manufacturing, and continuous improvement tools.

• Monitor and analyze manufacturing metrics, identify sources of variation and waste, and implement sustainable solutions to improve process capability and performance.

• Conduct workflow analyses, capacity studies, and line-balancing activities to optimize manufacturing operations.

Quality Systems & Documentation

• Develop, maintain, and update manufacturing documentation, including procedures, work instructions, specifications, process controls, test methods, and training materials.

• Lead or support engineering change processes, corrective and preventive actions (CAPAs), nonconformance investigations, risk assessments, and process validations.

• Execute equipment and process qualification activities, ensuring all changes are properly documented, validated, approved, and implemented.

• Support internal and external audits and maintain accurate, traceable engineering records.

Equipment & Manufacturing Systems

• Design, develop, improve, and maintain manufacturing equipment, tooling, fixtures, test systems, and process controls.

• Troubleshoot and resolve electrical, mechanical, vacuum, thermal, instrumentation, and automation-related equipment issues.

• Support equipment procurement, installation, qualification, maintenance, reliability improvement, and automation initiatives.

• Ensure equipment and tooling meet safety, quality, ergonomic, and production requirements.

New Product Introduction & Process Transfer

• Support new product development, prototype builds, pilot production, and transfer of products into manufacturing.

• Collaborate with R&D to establish production processes, specifications, test methods, acceptance criteria, and process controls.

• Develop manufacturing documentation, tooling, training, and validation requirements to ensure successful product launches and process transfers.

Cross-Functional & Supplier Collaboration

• Partner with Production, Quality, R&D, Sales, leadership, suppliers, and customers to resolve technical issues and drive continuous improvement.

• Support supplier quality improvement, specification development, material investigations, and corrective actions.

• Foster strong working relationships with production teams and leverage operator expertise to improve manufacturing performance and reliability.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in manufacturing, Mechanical, Electrical, Materials, Process, Industrial, Systems, Applied Physics, or a closely related engineering discipline.

• Minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in manufacturing, process engineering, equipment engineering, product engineering, or a similar technical role.

• Experience supporting technically complex manufacturing processes in a production environment.

Necessary Skills:

• Working knowledge of vacuum science and vacuum-system operation, including pumps, gauges, seals, leak detection, contamination control, and vacuum troubleshooting.

• Strong electrical knowledge, including the ability to read electrical schematics, use standard electrical test equipment, and troubleshoot electrical and electromechanical systems.

• Experience working with high-voltage equipment and a strong understanding of associated hazards and safe work practices.

• Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot complex manufacturing problems systematically and determine root cause.

• Experience of responding to urgent production problems or line-down conditions.

• Experience creating and maintaining SOPs, work instructions, manufacturing specifications, and other controlled technical documentation.

• Experience with engineering changes, nonconformance investigations, corrective actions, process validation, and formal qualification documentation.

• Ability to analyze manufacturing data and apply basic statistical and industrial-engineering methods.

• Strong mechanical aptitude and willingness to work directly with production equipment, fixtures, tooling, and manufactured components.

• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and commitment to technical accuracy.

• Effective written and verbal communication skills.

• Ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining appropriate urgency and follow through.

• Demonstrated commitment to safety, quality, professional conduct, and ethical decision making.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with electron sources, vacuum electronics, semiconductor equipment, scientific instruments, electron microscopy, X-ray equipment, or other high-vacuum and high-voltage products.

• Experience with refractory metals, ceramics, borides, crystal materials, or other brittle and difficult-to-machine materials.

• Experience with zone refining, crystal growth, precision micromachining, chemical etching, brazing, welding, high-temperature processing, or ultra-high-vacuum assembly.

• Experience with thermionic cathodes, field-emission cathodes, electron-gun modules, or high-voltage conditioning.

• Experience with Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, Kaizen, 5S, standard work, mistake proofing, or statistical process control.

• Experience conducting time studies, capacity analyses, process-capability studies, or designed experiments.

• Experience developing fixtures, test systems, equipment controls, or manufacturing automation.

• Familiarity with ISO 9001 or a comparable formal Quality Management System.

• Experience working in a high-mix, specialized manufacturing environment.

• • Experience using CAD, data-analysis, statistical, equipment-control, or programming tools. Education and Experience

Characteristics of a Successful Candidate:

The successful Manufacturing Engineer will:

• Take personal ownership of manufacturing problems and follow them through resolution.

• Understand that line-down conditions require urgency, clear communication, and disciplined execution.

• Be equally comfortable analyzing data, writing technical documentation, and working hands-on with equipment and production personnel.

• Approach troubleshooting methodically rather than relying on trial and error.

• Seek permanent corrective actions rather than repeatedly treating symptoms.

• Respect the knowledge and experience of production technicians and operators.

• Be curious about how processes work and persist in determining why they fail.

• Balance immediate production needs with long-term process reliability.

• Recognize that process improvements are not complete until they are validated, documented, approved, trained, and sustained.

• Consistently look for practical ways to make manufacturing safer, more repeatable, more efficient, and more capable.

Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE)-Females/Minorities/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

If you need a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job at Hitachi, please send the nature of request and contact information to accommodation@hal.hitachi.com. Queries other than accommodation requests will not be responded to.

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