Manufacturing & Production Test Engineer

Manufacturing & Production Test Engineer

Advantest Test Solutions, Inc. (ATS) is seeking a Manufacturing & Production Test Engineer for our Lake Forest, CA location. This entry-level hybrid role combines Manufacturing Engineering responsibilities with dedicated production test-program coding and support embedded within the Production/Test and Manufacturing Engineering team. The engineer develops, updates, debugs, validates, and maintains production test programs within approved requirements and change-control processes, while supporting manufacturing processes, equipment, automation, fixtures, tooling, and documentation. The role provides local ownership of routine coding and maintenance work, first-line troubleshooting, priority-list follow-through, and test release readiness to reduce repeated handoffs and delays waiting for Engineering availability. Structured training and mentorship from existing test-program owners will support a phased transfer of appropriate work, while Engineering remains involved in design-level changes and complex root cause issues. The role supports current products, new product introductions, and production ramps. The position requires on-site attendance at our Lake Forest, CA office.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Provide day to day engineering support for assigned manufacturing processes and production test programs. Track and address development, update, troubleshooting, and pending items on the production test program priority list; document status, escalate blockers, and follow through to closure and production readiness.
• Develop, code, debug, update, and maintain production test programs as hardware, firmware, test limits, and production requirements change. Work within approved specifications and change-control processes in coordination with Test Engineering, Design Engineering, Quality, and Production.
• Own validation and release readiness for assigned test program updates, including version control, configuration records, documented validation results, and coordination of required approvals before production deployment.
• Handle routine test program coding and maintenance locally to reduce repeated Engineering handoffs and wait time, allowing Engineering specialists to focus on higher complexity design and root cause issues.
• Provide first line troubleshooting when test programs fail or produce unexpected results. Analyze program behavior, station configuration, and production and test data to distinguish software or test issues from potential hardware failures; resolve routine issues locally and escalate design-level or complex root cause issues to Engineering specialists.
• Help set up and support new test stations, including connecting and configuring peripherals and test equipment, installing and configuring required drivers and software, verifying communication between the computer and test equipment, and troubleshooting hardware and software interface issues.
• Tailor existing test programs to support specific testing requirements, and set up external software required for testing, such as Vivado, Atmel Studio, and Uniflash.
• Assist during first article testing and when validating new test program versions.

• Develop and maintain work instructions, troubleshooting guides, training materials, dashboards, and process documentation for production personnel.
• Support manufacturing equipment, automation, fixtures, and tooling through evaluation, implementation, qualification, operator training, and sustaining activities.

• Support new product introductions and production ramps across Manufacturing Engineering and Production Test Engineering. Coordinate test-program and test-station updates for board, system, hardware, and firmware revisions; review test readiness, process requirements, tooling, documentation, training, and issue closure to prevent test-program support from becoming a production bottleneck.
• Participate in a structured development and training plan with mentorship from existing test-program owners. Progressively assume appropriate coding, debugging, maintenance, validation, and release readiness responsibilities as training milestones are completed; transfer test and process knowledge to technicians and operators and establish backup coverage for critical production activities.

• Support PFMEA, root cause analysis, corrective action, process control, and continuous-improvement activities.
• Carry out all other Production Test and Manufacturing Engineering duties as assigned.