Manager, Mechanical NPI Engineering

This is a highly technical engineering leadership role focused on overseeing the process of taking new products from design to full scale manufacturing. This role requires a combination of technical expertise in electro/mechanical design and manufacturing, along with strong management and team leadership skills.

Who You’ll Work With
As the Manager of Mechanical NPI Engineering, you will oversee a team of 8-10 Mechanical NPI Engineers, collaborating closely with Engineering Cross-Functional team members and our CM partners manufacturing our products. In this capacity, you will work with Hardware and Mechanical Engineering technical leaders to advance product development, manufacturing, and supplier strategies for High-Performance Networking equipment. Your role will bridge design and production, ensuring a seamless transition from conceptualization to high-volume manufacturing. The CMs you will engage with specialize in areas such as metals, plastics, die casting, high-speed cables, liquid cooling thermal solutions, optics and fiber connectivity, and numerous other E/M suppliers who manufacture key components of our products, in addition to direct collaboration with our customers.
 

What You’ll Do
You will assume a pivotal role in leading and developing a high-performing team responsible for introducing new products to market, with a strong emphasis on manufacturability, reliability, efficiency, and quality. You will provide technical leadership while fostering cross-functional collaboration among engineering, supply chain, quality, and manufacturing teams. Furthermore, you will engage directly with our customers, addressing matters ranging from defining product requirements to resolving any field quality escalations that may arise.

You will also be responsible for developing and optimizing manufacturing processes, ensuring product quality, and driving continuous improvements. This role necessitates robust expertise in E/M Manufacturing, Design for Cost and Manufacturability (DFM) considerations. The ideal candidate will influence engineering teams, collaborate with cross-functional groups, and implement process improvements to enhance efficiency and scalability. You will also be responsible for leading your team in conducting root cause analysis of quality and process issues at contract manufacturers or vendors, and driving the team in developing effective solutions to address and resolve these challenges.

Other responsibilities include:

• Providing training and mentorship to mechanical contract manufacturing personnel.
• Leading assembly process development to ensure high-quality and efficient manufacturing.
• Implementing and enforcing Design for Manufacturability (DFM) principles across various components, including sheet metal, plastics, die-cast and machined parts, cable assemblies, power delivery, liquid cooling solutions and system integration.
• Overseeing process validation, troubleshooting, and failure analysis.
• Managing Engineering Change Orders (ECOs) and maintaining stringent version/revision control.
• Supporting New Product Introduction (NPI) from initial prototyping through to full-scale production.
• Utilizing Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems, such as Agile or Propel, to track product lifecycles.
• Driving data center equipment lifecycle management to ensure manufacturability.
• Leading continuous improvement initiatives to enhance yield, cost efficiency, and quality.
• Developing and implementing best practices.
• Collaborating with cross-functional teams to optimize manufacturing efficiency.
• Partnering with supply chain and procurement teams to facilitate efficient material flow.
• Optimizing inventory management to minimize waste and improve production efficiency.

• A Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related manufacturing discipline.
• A minimum of 10 years of experience working as Mechanical NPI Engineering, coupled with expertise in Prototype & Production level DFM, plus 3-5 years of experience directly Managing a Mechanical NPI Engineering team.
• Should possess a minimum of 1-3 years of experience in the scaled manufacturing and implementation of liquid cooling thermal solutions, encompassing board-level to facility-level applications. This experience should include cold plates, associated fittings, tubing, and hose terminations, as well as the deployment of leak detection devices and the utilization of system-level liquid cooling distribution units (CDUs) and air-assisted liquid coolers (AALCs).
• Demonstrated working knowledge and experience with PLM systems (Agile, Propel preferred) and a comprehensive understanding of ECO/MCO/DEV/PCN processes.
• A strong background in debugging and troubleshooting Electro-Mechanical (E/M) systems, conducting failure/root cause analysis, and applying the 8D methodology.
• Exceptional leadership, mentoring, problem-solving, cross-functional collaboration, and communication skills.

Highly preferred:

• Knowledge of data center equipment lifecycle management, PCB and component level coordination, from new product introduction through Production, and end of life.
• Experience reviewing PCB layout files in Allegro, or other viewer
• CREO MCAD experience

Compensation Information:
The new hire base pay for this role has a salary range of $165,000 to $195,000. Arista offers different pay ranges based on work location, so that we can offer consistent and competitive pay appropriate to the market. The actual base pay offered will be based on a wide range of factors, including skills, qualifications, relevant experience, and work location. The pay range provided reflects base pay only and in addition certain roles may also be eligible for discretionary Arista bonuses and equity. Employees in Sales roles are eligible to participate in Arista’s Sales Incentive Plan, which pays commissions calculated as a percentage of eligible sales. US-based employees are also entitled to benefits including medical, dental, vision, wellbeing, tax savings and income protection. The recruiting team can share more details during the hiring process specific to the role and location.

Arista Networks is an equal opportunity employer.  Arista makes all hiring and employment-related decisions in a non-discriminatory manner without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin or any other factor determined to be unlawful under applicable federal, state, or law law.  All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.