Manufacturing Leadership Development Program
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Oct 18, 2026. First seen by Alion on Oct 16, 2026. Koch Industries scores A on the Alion truth index.
Your Job
Guardian Glass is seeking participants for a full-time Manufacturing Leadership Development Program at our Richburg manufacturing facility. This structured opportunity is designed to build a pipeline of future technical and operational leaders through plant rotations, hands-on improvement work, mentoring, and progressive supervisory experience. You will develop broad knowledge of glass manufacturing while building the judgment and leadership capability needed to create long-term value for Guardian and society.
Our Team
The Richburg team operates an integrated manufacturing facility with major process areas spanning the hot end, cold end, and coating operations. Program participants will work across these areas with support from a designated senior-leader mentor and experienced operations and engineering partners. The program is intended to complement existing engineering opportunities while giving participants a broader path toward technical leadership or manufacturing management.
What You Will Do
- Complete structured rotations across the plant's major operating areas, with assignments generally lasting three to six months in each area.
- Build technical knowledge through hands-on projects focused on continuous improvement, process innovation, reliability, quality, safety, supply chain and value creation.
- Meet regularly with a designated senior-leader mentor to review progress, development priorities, and future assignments.
- Develop supervisory capability through progressive floor-leadership assignments after completing the initial plant rotations.
- Partner with operators, engineers, supervisors, and leaders to understand plant processes, identify opportunities, and implement sustainable improvements.
- Prepare for permanent technical leadership, process engineering, or manufacturing management assignment based on business needs, demonstrated contribution, and comparative advantage.
Who You Are (Basic Qualifications)
- Bachelor's degree in engineering, engineering technology, or another technical discipline completed by the program start date (May 2027).
- Desire to work in an industrial manufacturing environment and complete assignments across multiple plant operating areas.
- Willing and able to work a schedule that supports plant operations and developmental supervisory assignments, which may include off-shift hours.
- Legally authorized to work in the United States without requiring employer sponsorship now or in the future.
What Will Put You Ahead
- Internship, co-op, project, military, or work experience in manufacturing, operations, engineering, or technical leadership.
- Experience applying continuous improvement, data analysis, problem-solving, or process optimization methods.
This role is not open to sponsorship now or in the future.
At Koch companies, we are entrepreneurs. This means we openly challenge the status quo, find new ways to create value and get rewarded for our individual contributions. Any compensation range provided for a role is an estimate determined by available market data. The actual amount may be higher or lower than the range provided considering each candidate's knowledge, skills, abilities, and geographic location. If you have questions, please speak to your recruiter about the flexibility and detail of our compensation philosophy.
Hiring Philosophy
All Koch companies value diversity of thought, perspectives, aptitudes, experiences, and backgrounds. We are Military Ready and Second Chance employers. Learn more about our hiring philosophy here.
Who We Are
As a Koch company, Guardian Glass is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of float, value-added and fabricated glass products and solutions. We produce high-performance glass for architectural, residential, interior, transportation, and technical glass applications. You’ll find our glass in homes, offices and cars, and in some of the world’s most iconic projects.
At Koch, employees are empowered to do what they do best to make life better. Learn how our business philosophy helps employees unleash their potential while creating value for themselves and the company.
Our Benefits
Our goal is for each employee, and their families, to live fulfilling and healthy lives. We provide essential resources and support to build and maintain physical, financial, and emotional strength - focusing on overall wellbeing so you can focus on what matters most. Our benefits plan includes - medical, dental, vision, flexible spending and health savings accounts, life insurance, ADD, disability, retirement, paid vacation/time off, educational assistance, and may also include infertility assistance, paid parental leave and adoption assistance. Specific eligibility criteria is set by the applicable Summary Plan Description, policy or guideline and benefits may vary by geographic region. If you have questions on what benefits apply to you, please speak to your recruiter.
Additionally, everyone has individual work and personal needs. We seek to enable the best work environment that helps you and the business work together to produce superior results.
Equal Opportunities
Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and protected veteran status. Except where prohibited by state law, some offers of employment are conditioned upon successfully passing a drug test. This employer uses E-Verify. Please click here for additional information. (For Illinois E-Verify information click here, aquí, or tu).