Background

Built in the factory.
Delivered to you.

Over a decade of hands-on experience in avionics and defense PCBA manufacturing, combined with a growing digital practice.

Chris Villareale
Principal Consultant
Location: Southern California
Entity: Chris Villareale Consulting LLC
Focus: PCBA / SMT Engineering, DFM, Web & Product Design

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Professional History

2024 — Present

Principal Consultant

  • Independent PCBA and SMT process consulting for avionics, defense, and commercial clients
  • DFM review for pre-production board designs — Gerber, ODB++, BGA, component selection, and NPI support
  • Subject matter expert in solder paste printing, stencil design, and paste selection for high-volume and high-mix environments
  • Custom tooling design and fixture development to improve SMT and assembly process performance
  • Production SOP authorship for SMT, conformal coating, underfill, and inspection processes
  • Custom web application development using Next.js, React, and Supabase on Vercel
15+ Years

SMT Process & Manufacturing Engineering

  • Full SMT line ownership across high-volume (60K+ units/week) and high-mix/low-volume production environments in aerospace, defense, and electronics industries
  • Increased SMT throughput by 60%+ across multiple lines through process tuning, workflow optimization, and cross-functional coordination
  • Improved solder paste printing first pass yield from under 75% to over 99% via stencil redesign, paste selection, and SPI parameter optimization
  • Led material qualification and line-wide migration efforts that eliminated reflow process defects and reduced downtime
  • DFM engineering for NPI programs — PCB layout, component selection, custom parts, and manufacturability reviews from concept through mass production
  • IPC-A-610, IPC/WHMA-A-620, and NASA workmanship standards — Class 2 and Class 3 assemblies
  • Pick-and-place programming and optimization across Fuji SMT platforms; SPI, AOI, and AXI inspection process ownership
  • Custom JEDEC tray, matrix tray, and tooling design for automated placement and handling improvement
  • VBA-based automation tools for data analysis, material prep tracking, and build delay reduction
  • Engineering team management including direct reports across manufacturing engineering, document control, and floor support

Qualifications

🎓
B.S. Mechanical Engineering Technology
May 2009
🏭
SMT Process Engineering
15+ years hands-on manufacturing experience
📋
IPC-A-610
Acceptability of Electronic Assemblies — Class 2 & 3
🔌
IPC/WHMA-A-620
Requirements & Acceptance for Cable & Wire Harness Assemblies
🚀
NASA Workmanship Standards
High-reliability electronic assembly standards
🔬
IPC-7095 BGA X-Ray
Design & Assembly Process Implementation
🛡️
IPC-CC-830 Conformal Coating
Qualification & Performance of Electrical Insulating Compounds
🏢
California LLC
Chris Villareale Consulting LLC — Registered in California