Director of Process Engineering

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Support and execute a comprehensive process engineering strategy and technology roadmap.
• Establish standard operating procedures and process controls across all facilities.
• Oversee technical OpEx/CapEx budgets, lifecycle risks, equipment procurement, and vendor performance management.
• Establish consistent processes, governance, and accountability across the teams while recognizing legitimate site-specific operational requirements.

Process Optimization & Excellence

• Lead continuous improvement initiatives leveraging Lean Six Sigma frameworks to maximize Overall Equipment Effectiveness OEE, reduce cycle times, and eliminate waste.
• Partner with Product Engineering to ensure production readiness, line balancing, and smooth transitions from initial product qualification to high-volume manufacturing.
• Collaborate with Process Integration Engineering to ensure process readiness with minimum technician coverage during high-volume manufacturing.
• Drive advanced automation, robotics, and driving towards industry 4.0 integration, including Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), Cloud data integration, and predictive maintenance technologies.

Team Development

• Provide organizational leadership, mentorship, and career pipelines for teams of process engineers and technicians.
• Be ready to make changes to continuously improve organization efficiency.
• Drive timely recovery actions when execution deviates from plan and escalate issues requiring cross-functional or leadership decisions.
• Balance near-term execution requirements with longer-term objectives.

Performance Management

• Establish and monitor KPIs that measure effectiveness, execution, and business performance of the team.
• Use data and analytics to identify process risk, capacity constraints, productivity opportunities, and root causes of team performance gaps.
• Develop actionable reporting and operating reviews that support timely decisions and accountability.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner effectively with Manufacturing and Site Operations, Program Management, Global Procurement, Finance, Engineering, Quality, IT, Commercial organizations, and business leadership.
• Ensure process roadmap and gap improvement plans are aligned with customer commitments, NPI and production-ramp requirements, and business objectives.
• Ability to coordinate with R&D, supply chain, production floor operators, and executive boards.
• Communicate significant process risks clearly to leadership and drive timely decisions and corrective actions.

Education & Experience

• Master’s degree in Chemical, Mechanical, Materials, or Electrical Engineering. A PhD degree is highly preferred.
• 15+ years of progressive experience in advanced manufacturing, semiconductor photonics fabs, or processing plants, with at least 5+ years in a senior leadership.
• Demonstrated experience leading teams and cross-functional processes in a complex manufacturing environment.
• Experience managing changing priorities and constrained resources while maintaining customer and business focus.

Skills

• Proven success in leading and developing people and building high-performing teams.
• Strong understanding of photonics process engineering and demonstrated experience in resolving process issues during manufacturing is preferred.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication, organizational, and decision-making skills.
• Ability to influence across organizational boundaries and lead through ambiguity and changing priorities. Proven ability to build an environment of continuous experimentation while maintaining strict change control and risk mitigation protocols.
• Strong familiarity with advanced process diagnostics (e.g. PFMEA, Root-Cause Analysis, Statistical Process Control) and data literacy platform. Industry-specific expertise may apply (e.g. Dry Etch for semiconductors, or wastewater treatment for infrastructure).
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and analytics/reporting tools such as Excel, Power BI, SQL, or comparable technologies preferred.
• Ability to communicate effectively with operational teams, functional leaders, customers, and executive leadership.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally as required by business.

Working Conditions

Working conditions are normal for an office environment and climate-controlled manufacturing facility.

Must be able to work effectively with a 24/7 manufacturing organization and provide support outside normal business hours when required by operational or business needs.

Physical Requirements

Sitting and working at a computer for extended periods; occasional movement through manufacturing, warehouse, and logistics areas.

Safety Requirements

All employees are required to follow the site EHS procedures and Coherent Corp. Corporate EHS standards.

Quality and Environmental Responsibilities

Depending on location, this position may be responsible for the execution and maintenance of the ISO 9000, 9001, 14001 and/or other applicable standards that may apply to the relevant roles and responsibilities within the Quality Management System and Environmental Management System.

Culture Commitment

Ensure adherence to company’s values (ICARE) in all aspects of your position at Coherent Corp.:

Integrity - Create an Environment of Trust

Collaboration - Innovate Through the Sharing of Ideas

Accountability - Own the Process and the Outcome

Respect - Recognize the Value in Everyone

Enthusiasm - Find a Sense of Purpose in Work

Coherent Corp. is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.

If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, you may contact us at [email protected].