Optical Mechanical Manufacturing Engineer
Keysight · Santa Clara, CA
- Level
- Engineer
- Team
- Reliability
- Degree
- Required
- Experience asked
- 7+ years
- Industry
- Industrial
- Posted
- 30+ days ago
The role in 30 seconds
An engineer-level reliability role at Keysight (industrial) in Santa Clara, CA. Support, implement, and update optics products’ assembly and test procedures while continuously making relevant improvements.
- They ask for
- 7+ years · degree required
- Tools it names
- Lean, Six Sigma, Root cause, CAPA, Assembly lines, Tooling
- Day to day
- some off-shift / weekend coverage
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of October 19, 2026
Reliability Engineer roles in California: typical posted base $115k–$169k.
Median of the low and high ends of 69 live postings that list pay, out of 147 reliability engineer openings in California, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.
California plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →
How this role compares
Against 146 other live reliability postings in California.
- Base pay
- Not listed in this posting
- Experience asked
- More than usual (7+ vs 5+)
Typical $115k–$169k, from 68 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 5+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- ✓ Root cause 71%
- ✓ New product launch 41%
- FMEA 40%
- Automation 30%
- Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ) 28%
- ✓ Tooling 20%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
Stands out: this posting asks for CAPA, Assembly lines, CATIA / NX, which few similar roles mention. If you have it, lead with it.
At a glance
Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.
How to get in at this plant
Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.
- 1
Pick 2–3 people on the Reliability team at Keysight
We found 7 people at this company and state: 5 in this kind of role, 2 leaders. Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. See them ↓
- 2
Send a short, curious note
One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.
Write to Soham → (free) - 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- How does off-shift and weekend coverage work?
- How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
- 4
Apply with someone vouching for you
If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.
- 5
Bring proof to the interview
One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.
This plant: Keysight in Santa Clara
2 other open roles at this site · 7 people we found in reliability roles at Keysight.
- Optics Assembly Technician · Manufacturing · Technician
- Manufacturing Engineer · Manufacturing
Full description from KeysightAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
Responsibilities
As a Optical Mechanical Manufacturing Engineer, you will be responsible for improving products, processes, and components to meet customer and system performance requirements. You will have the opportunity to directly work with production teams and introduce new technologies while transform state-of-art engineering designs into valuable and manufacturable products. You will make key contributions and provide leadership to develop, document and drive our manufacturing processes to deliver top-quality products to meet customer quality requirements. You will play a key role throughout the product lifecycle ensuring manufacturability, quality, reliability, and cost effectiveness. Work directly with production teams to support manufacturing and new-product- introduction (NPI) initiatives, installing new designs to production floor. Participate in Manufacturing tooling design and upgrades using Siemens NX 3D CAD simulation program or modeling. Transfer NPI precision opto-mechanical tooling, processes and procedures to build up production line capacity, conducting training to technicians, and able to evaluate and qualify manufacturing processes. Support customer returns by leading failure investigations, determining root causes, developing corrective and preventive actions (CAPA), directing the work of production technicians, generating quotes and dispositions, and authoring customer-facing technical reports. Actively participate in the release of new product introductions (NPI). Support product tooling and process designs to ensure reliable manufacturability. Define and develop assembly processes and documentation, support production trouble shooting, and lead manufacturing personal to make corrective actions for product test, assembly and packaging. Support, implement, and update optics products’ assembly and test procedures while continuously making relevant improvements. Develop on-the-job expertise to troubleshoot and resolve optical interferometer product issues. Resolve production issues related to final assembly and test of interferometer products. Work closely with different function groups to support production on MRB, RMA and process improvement activities. Develop new and update existing manufacturing procedures in collaboration with technical writers (address return-driven preventive actions, production feedback, change requests, and tooling improvements). Lead production test station upgrades to include: hardware design support, coordination of software updates, and qualification of new or modified test methods. Support supply-chain department on second-source developments and qualifications. Develop, review, and provide technical feedback for engineering change orders affecting interferometer product BOMs, drawings, procedures, and other related documentation. Drive cost-reduction initiatives while establishing robust process controls to consistently deliver high-quality products to customers. Work collaboratively with a cross-functional team to deliver long-term, cost-effective solutions. Develop and maintain yield tracking tools across product families.
Qualifications
Required Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Optical Sciences, or a closely related technical discipline. 4-7 years of experience working in technical manufacturing environment. Strong communicator who collaborates effectively across functions and supports technical discussions with data and analysis. Demonstrated ability to think critically and work independently to develop ideas and translate new concepts into practical, results-driven solutions. Preferred Manufacturing Engineer III / Advanced Level Independently applies engineering judgment to improve products, processes, and manufacturing methodologies. Experience with translating interferometer product
requirements
As a Optical Mechanical Manufacturing Enginee
Show full description ↓Show less ↑
Overview Keysight is at the forefront of technology innovation, delivering breakthroughs and trusted insights in electronic design, simulation, prototyping, test, manufacturing, and optimization. Our ~16,800 employees create world-class solutions in communications, 5G, automotive, energy, quantum, aerospace, defense, and semiconductor markets for customers in over 100 countries. Learn more about what we do. Our award-winning culture embraces a bold vision of where technology can take us and a passion for tackling challenging problems with industry-first solutions. We believe that when people feel a sense of belonging, they can be more creative, innovative, and thrive at all points in their careers.
