Engineering Technician/ Lab Manager

Due to the classified nature of our work, U.S. citizenship is required. Candidate must meet the eligibility to obtain and maintain a DoD Top Secret / SCI Security Clearance.

Location: Sunnyvale (Onsite 5 days a week)

About Us

Pacific Defense is a leading developer of advanced electronics systems for the U.S. Department of Defense and commercial customers. Our team specializes in Open Systems Architecture solutions for the non-kinetic fight, providing customers with cost-effective, modular, and rapidly reconfigurable systems in record time. We deliver sensing and effects solutions for land, air, sea, and space domains, leveraging open standards and rapid prototyping methodologies to bring innovative capabilities to the market. Pacific Defense has built an excellent reputation in the defense industry and is expanding our team to tackle new challenges and opportunities. Join us and accelerate your career!

We are looking to hire an Engineering Technician / Lab Manager who wants to get involved with a small, fast-paced and dynamic company. This individual will be responsible for setting up, maintaining, and managing our Sunnyvale lab. This position includes engineering development, troubleshooting, production support, and maintaining our Sunnyvale Engineering lab. This individual will own management of the lab and will be responsible for creating a successful lab environment where engineering can thrive. The Engineering Technician / Lab Manager is expected to work well with cross functional groups (IT/project managers/engineering/operations) to identify and resolve technical issues/risks to minimize their impact on program execution/success. It is important that the candidate be able to work independently and collaboratively within multi-discipline teams. This position typically works under limited supervision and direction.

• Experience with reading/interpreting drawings, bills of materials (BOMs), and complex assembly instructions in order to assemble PCBs
• Proven experience transitioning products from design to manufacturing as part of a cross-functional team
• Duties include installation of connectors, substrates, components and modules in highly complex microwave assemblies, often utilizing using paste and sheet epoxies
• Demonstrated experience in fast-paced iterative design environments with complex RF and high-speed digital processing electronic products and associated software and gateware
• Proven track record of managing lab infrastructure, safety protocols, and calibration schedules.
• Experience solder both SMT and through hole parts onto PCBs
• Operate autonomous without direct engineering or management oversite
• Demonstrated experience with reviewing hardware designs to define test coverage
• Self-starter, with ability to work within teams or as an individual contributor to accomplish design goals
• Excellent communication (oral and written) with all levels; collaboration, organizational, and prioritization skills
• Hands-on experience with electronic test equipment (oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, signal generators, power supplies, etc.).
• Strong understanding of system integration, hardware/software testing, and test automation practices.
• Excellent organizational and documentation skills

Responsibilities

• Use schematics, blueprints or sketches and verbal and written instructions to assemble, rework, or re-assemble units
• Perform rework (i.e. 0201 size parts) and PCB modifications as needed
• Perform surface mount, fine pitch and through hole soldering
• Able to work with miniaturized tools such as tweezers, fine screwdrivers and soldering irons
• Write or modify a board level test procedure with guidance from design engineer
• Collect and organize RF characterization and test data
• Demonstrate the ability to organize information, job tasks, and manage time for most efficient and "best value" performance
• Lab Management & Operations
• Oversee day-to-day operations of engineering lab, ensuring compliance with safety, security, and operational standards.
• Maintain lab equipment, instrumentation, and test infrastructure; coordinate calibration, maintenance, and upgrades.
• Establish and enforce lab procedures, including ESD safety, configuration control, and equipment checkout.
• Manage lab scheduling and usage across multiple engineering teams.
• Leadership & Collaboration
• Serve as the primary interface between engineering teams and lab operations.
• Drive process improvements to optimize lab efficiency, throughput, and reliability.
• Mentor junior engineers and technicians in lab and test best practices.

Preferred:

• Experience in the aerospace & defense industry.
• Familiarity with MIL-STD testing and qualification requirements.
• Knowledge of networked test environments, scripting languages (Python, LabVIEW, etc.), and data acquisition tools.
• Must be IPC certified
• Active DoD security clearance or ability to obtain one.

Pacific Defense provides competitive salaries and immediately vested 401K match. We provide 100% coverage options for the employee, and 75% coverage for dependents’ medical, dental, vision, and life insurance premiums, as well as a flexible spending

account for incidental health care expenses. We offer paid time off and federal holidays to spend time with family, pursue outside interests, or just get some extra rest.

Pacific Defense is an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected factor.