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76 PCB007 MAGAZINE I NOVEMBER 2022 College students oen ask me what a day in the life of a process engineer entails. While each day is vastly different than the last, here is a "typical" day in the life of a process engineer in the PCB manufacturing industry. 7:45–8:30 a.m. My day begins with a giant tumbler of black coffee. My morning ritual includes checking emails, following up on previous shis' daily logs, and reviewing the previous day's quality and throughput reports. From there, I begin my action item list. I will write down any con- cerns from the shi logs, emails that need to be responded to, and any jobs that need to be reviewed for poor yields. On Monday morn- ings, this time will include creating a chart for my department of the previous week's defects and ways we can work to improve the top defects. 8:30–10:00 a.m. My c o f f e e h a s n o w been completed with the first wave of emails for the day. Time to check in with my department. With 10 processes and o v e r 5 0 o p e r ato r s , my department is one of the largest at TTM-Logan. So, with my action list in hand, I will walk through each of the processes in chronological order. At each stop along the way, I ask the operators how things are going, verify the machine set- tings, answer any questions, and review any jobs that are on hold for engineering review. If a machine is down or a new tool is needed, it will be added to the action list for the day. 10:00–11:00 a.m. Wow, the morning is flying by. At this point, I am getting a start on my to-do list. Typically, this involves answering questions about manu- facturing for my front-end department, order- ing new materials for the solder mask depart- ment, and/or checking in with the quality team on their audits of my department. Occasion- ally, this time is spent meeting with other pro- cess engineers at the Logan facility to discuss interdepartmental issues and brainstorm solu- tions to the problem(s). Other times, I am on a bi-weekly call with a fellow solder mask engi- A Day in the Life of a Process Engineer The New Chapter by Paige Fiet, TTM-LOGAN