At Align Technology, we believe a great smile can transform a person’s life, so we create technology that gives people the confidence to take on whatever’s next. We revolutionized the orthodontic industry with the introduction of the Invisalign system, and we have never lost sight of that spirit of innovation. Our diverse and collaborative teams are constantly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. 

About this opportunity 

The 3D Printing Process team at Align Technology is looking for a 3D Process Engineer III at the San Jose, CA, location. The 3D Process Engineer III will be responsible for printing process and post process development for new materials and manufacturing processes for R&D products using DFAM principles. The 3D Process Engineer III will collaborate with software and materials teams to solve interdisciplinary problems related to additive manufacturing.     

Key Responsibilities

In this role, you will… 

• Use Process DFAM principles to identify and optimize post processing strategies for current and new R&D concepts 

• Individually operate new additive manufacturing equipment and post processing equipment

• Design, setup and execute experiments to study process-structure-property relationships for polymer AM systems

• Use process-structure-property relationships to optimize printing and post process operations for polymer AM systems

• Use statistical tools to analyze and interpret experiment results.

• Use evidence-based methods to select, optimize and standardize printing and post processing parameters. 

• Study and develop metrics for understanding the process capability of the additive manufacturing system. 

• Be responsible for writing, maintaining, and transferring work instructions to manufacturing teams. 

• Be part of several small cross-functional teams working together to solve problems related to additive manufacturing. 

• Participate, and lead select weekly and bi-weekly technical meetings with cross functional groups 

• Collect, maintain and organize data in accordance to internal standards. 

• Present data, findings, and ideas to the process and cross-functional teams on a weekly basis

• Work closely with the Senior Process Engineer and Manager to create new experiment plans. 

• Perform material and product testing using standard and non-standard material testing equipment.

• Complete assigned tasks to develop the process for manufacturing custom orthodontic appliances. 

• Create and evaluate prototype machines, measurement equipment, jigs and fixtures. 

• Uphold and maintain lab safety practices as defined in the SOP’s and Safety Trainings. 

• Foster collaboration with cross functional teams, support onboarding and training of technicians.

Skills Knowledge & Expertise

In this role, you’ll need … 

• MS degree in mechanical or Biomedical Engineering (other scientific disciplines considered) with 5+ years of direct 3D printing experience related to SLA/ Resin based 3D printing machines, or printed medical devices. 

• PhD degree in mechanical or relevant interdisciplinary degree with focus on process or post process development for photopolymer based additive manufacturing systems

• Experience with handling and working with chemicals such as Iso propyl alcohol, photopolymers, cleaning agents. 

• Knowledge/ Fundamentals of Process Design for Additive Manufacturing.

• Experience in development of printing or post process parameters for a specific application or material. 

• Experience in optimizing post process parameters for 3D printed parts

• Experience using instruments such as CT scanners, Surface profilers, Digital microscopes and similar imaging techniques. 

• Demonstrable experience highlighting the use of statistical techniques (e.g. DOE) to analyze data and control variation in manufacturing process

• Demonstrable experience in collaboration with multidisciplinary teams 

• Demonstrable experience in troubleshooting problems with logical approach. 

• Demonstrable experience in presenting technical data.

Nice to Have:

• Experience in development of metrics for process control and process capability. 

• Collaboration with polymer design/engineering groups is desirable.

• Experience using AM tools such as solidworks, slicer and other toolpath generation SW.

• Experience with SW tools such as JMP, Python, MATLAB etc. 

• Experience with building/operating custom 3D printers, material testing, or post processing equipment.

• Experience with 3D printed devices for medical or biomechanical applications