SMT Line Lead - San Jose, United States
$250,000 - $350,000 USD yearly
Originally posted 9 October 2026 by the employer.
About the role
The SMT Line Lead runs and operates Etched's in-house SMT line, from incoming material to finished, inspected modules. This role involves building and leading the line's operations team to establish a reliable, high-yield operation.
What you'll do
- Own day-to-day operation of a US-based SMT line for NPI and mass production.
- Hire, lead, and develop the line's operations team.
- Own shift schedules and coverage for employees and contractors, including overtime and cross-training.
- Build training and certification programs (IPC-A-610, J-STD-001, ESD, MSD handling) and maintain a skills matrix.
- Turn program priorities into a daily and weekly build schedule, coordinate changeovers, and resequence quickly.
- Run the inspection flow (IQC, SPI, AOI, AXI, test) and rework operation, including ASIC rework, partnering with process engineering to debug yield issues and close out corrective actions.
What you'll need
- Bachelor's degree in a STEM field or comparable experience.
- Minimum of five years of experience in electronics manufacturing (PCBA/SMT), with at least two years leading production teams.
- Hands-on experience running an SMT line day to day, including build scheduling, kitting, feeder setup, changeovers, and line-side inventory.
- Experience managing mixed teams of full-time employees and contractors across shifts.
- Working knowledge of SMT inspection and quality (SPI, AOI, X-ray), IPC-A-610 and J-STD-001, and MSD handling.
- Familiarity with SMT process validation and characterization.
- Track record of building processes, training programs, and metrics from scratch.
Nice to have
- Experience leading an SMT line at a hardware startup.
- Experience bringing a new SMT line from first build to stable production.
- Experience with complex, high-value assemblies (large BGAs, server or accelerator boards) and BGA rework.
- Experience with MES, traceability, or inventory systems.
Skills: SMT line, line operations, yield issues, process validation, MES
This role has been open 0 days — well below the 52-day median for Manufacturing/Industrial Engineering roles.
Manufacturing/Industrial Engineering · Manufacturing Equipment
|
Open roles in category
2412
|
Median days open
52 d
|
Median salary
$99k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Etched | All employers we track in this specialty (2412 roles · 77 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 6 | 2412 |
| Open roles in the wider Process, Fab & Equipment family | 12 | 9796 · 108 employers |
| Median days open | 82 d | 52 d (+30 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $99k |
Skills observed across this category: SMT line, line operations, yield issues, process validation, MES
Who's hiring in this category
- Micron Technology · 382 open roles · median 80 d
- Entegris · 250 open roles · median 29 d
- Applied Materials · 235 open roles · median 39 d
- Lam Research · 106 open roles · median 51 d
- Infineon Technologies · 88 open roles · median 52 d
- ASML · 75 open roles · median 69 d
How we counted: 2412 open Manufacturing/Industrial Engineering (Manufacturing Equipment) roles from 77 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 9 Oct 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there — it is counted in the wider Process, Fab & Equipment family row. Figures refresh nightly.