Senior Coating Engineer

About the role

The Senior Coating Engineer is responsible for the development, design, qualification, optimization, and transfer of advanced optical coating and thin film technologies supporting new product introduction and strategic business initiatives. This role serves as a technical leader and subject‑matter expert for optical coating design, thin film technologies, coating performance, and next‑generation coating capabilities, partnering closely with engineering, operations, quality, and customers to develop innovative and manufacturable solutions.

The Senior Coating Engineer leads coating engineering activities from concept through production release, including coating design, technology development, equipment qualification, product qualification, and manufacturing transfer. The role drives technical problem solving, supports strategic technology investments, and contributes to the advancement of coating capabilities across the organization. While primarily an individual contributor role, this position provides technical leadership, project leadership, and mentorship to engineers and technicians and may have future people leadership responsibilities.

• Lead coating engineering activities supporting new product introduction from concept through production release.
• Develop and optimize optical coating designs to meet customer performance requirements and manufacturing objectives using Essential Macleod or equivalent thin film design software.
• Serve as the technical subject matter expert for optical coatings, thin film technologies, and deposition processes.
• Evaluate emerging coating technologies, materials, and equipment and recommend investments that expand technical and manufacturing capabilities.
• Lead the specification, acquisition, qualification, and implementation of new coating chambers, metrology systems, and related technologies.
• Develop coating technologies and manufacturing methods that support successful product introduction, scalability, and long‑term production performance.
• Lead the transfer and qualification of new coating technologies and products from development into manufacturing.
• Design, execute, and analyze experiments to evaluate coating performance, manufacturability, and technical improvements.
• Lead root‑cause investigations, failure analysis activities, and corrective actions related to coating performance and product quality.
• Partner with manufacturing, quality, and operations teams to resolve technical challenges, improve coating performance, and drive continuous improvement initiatives.
• Collaborate with customers and internal stakeholders to define technical requirements and develop coating solutions.
• Represent coating engineering in customer technical discussions, issue resolution activities, ongoing projects, and new business opportunities.
• Participate in design reviews, manufacturability assessments, and technical risk evaluations for new products.
• Define and track key performance indicators related to coating performance, technology effectiveness, product qualification, and successful transfer to manufacturing.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to engineers, technicians, and cross‑functional teams supporting coating development and manufacturing activities.
• Lead or support cross‑functional engineering projects and carry out additional responsibilities as needed to support engineering and business objectives.

• Bachelor’s degree in Optical Engineering, Physics, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical field required; advanced degree (Master’s or PhD) preferred.
• 5+ years of experience in optical coatings, thin film technologies, photonics, semiconductor manufacturing, or advanced optical manufacturing environments.
• Experience developing optical coating designs and supporting coating technology development in a manufacturing environment.
• Experience supporting new product introduction, product qualification, and manufacturing transfer activities.
• Experience utilizing Essential Macleod or equivalent thin film design software required.
• Demonstrated experience with optical coatings, thin…