Director of Manufacturing Operations - Hillsboro

About nLIGHT

At nLIGHT, we are constantly on the cutting-edge of laser technology in a massively growing market. We are a leading provider of high-power semiconductors and fiber lasers for industrial, microfabrication, and aerospace & defense applications, to name a few. Our lasers are changing not only the way things are made, but also changing the things that can be made.

Headquartered in Camas, Washington, nLIGHT is a publicly listed company (NASDAQ: LASR).

The Director of Manufacturing Operations is a senior leadership position responsible for overseeing all aspects of semiconductor laser assembly production. This role ensures operational excellence by managing strategic planning, production execution, and cross-functional collaboration to achieve world-class standards in quality, delivery, efficiency, and safety. The director drives continuous improvement and innovation, supporting the company's growth and competitiveness in both military and commercial markets.

• Manages strategic and tactical aspects of semiconductor laser assembly production for medium-to-high-volume production of ruggedized military & commercial products
• Establishes production schedules with planning and business groups and executes against schedule to meet goals for revenue, on-time delivery and lead-time
• Provides supervision and leadership to direct reports including employee performance management, motivating and facilitating continuous learning and development, conducting annual performance appraisals, and providing timely feedback and recognition.
• Meets aggressive, world-class goals on quality, cycle time, yield and cost
• Leads global multi-disciplinary teams to deliver new products, sustaining engineering, and NPI of laser-based product lines as part of key strategy in vertically integrated organization.
• Analyzes bottlenecks and establishes sufficient capacity to cost-effectively meet production demands
• Drives continuous improvement opportunities and yield metrics utilizing wide variety of analytical techniques (such as FMEA, SPC, DOE, Gage R&R, 8D), lean manufacturing, and six sigma concepts.
• Coordinates with facilities, including maintenance and build-outs, for optimal uptime and cost
• Interfaces with senior leadership and various support functions such as Supply Chain, Development Engineering, Quality, Finance, HR, and IT as required to establish plans and execute against them
• Collaborates with R&D to analyze competition, market trends, emerging technology and drives strategic engineering projects into production as capable products & processes.
• Ensures strong safety program in place
• Manages and motivates direct staff
• Builds upon ISO
  9001:2000 certified quality management system in place

• Requires a BS in Engineering (Optical, Physics, Electrical, Chemical, Mechanical) and 10+ years high-tech manufacturing experience with at least five years in a managerial role, or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• MS in Engineering or Business is preferred.
• 8+ years of experience in product & process development, NPI or process control of laser systems/photonic components
• 8+ years of experience working for company providing products for US Defense and/or Government Contracting.
• Working knowledge of FAR/DFAR requirements, and ITAR-compliant operations
• Skilled in implementing and utilizing lean manufacturing, SPC, ERP, and MRP systems
• Strong business and people skills, including strategic thinking, executive communication, and basic business financial acumen
• Strong record of developing and transferring products and processes related to laser systems and photonic components
• Strong record of effective judgement and decisiveness, clear thinking, problem solving through structured methodologies
• Strong situational leadership skills, record of developing great teams and strong hires
• Sets very strong culture of accountability, disciplined thinking, integrity and expectations, leads by example
• APICS CPIM experience is preferred, but not required
• Six Sigma Black Belt is preferred, but not required
• Strong communication skills
• Excellent team player
• Demonstrated ability to…