Lead Project Engineer

Job Title

Lead Engineer

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a small team of engineers and technical professionals, providing direction, coaching, performance management, and career development to ensure successful execution of department and business objectives.
• Plan, prioritize, and allocate engineering resources across multiple projects and operational initiatives. Establish project scope, objectives, schedules, equipment requirements, and cost estimates to ensure timely and effective delivery.
• Lead cross-functional engineering projects from concept through implementation, coordinating activities across engineering, operations, quality, supply chain, and commercial teams to achieve business goals.
• Provide technical leadership and subject matter expertise in manufacturing processes, advanced materials, and product development. Support troubleshooting efforts and resolution of complex technical issues affecting production, quality, cost, and delivery.
• Drive execution of new product introductions, process improvements, and manufacturing transfer activities, including development of documentation, training plans, equipment specifications, and process validation activities.
• Develop, monitor, and manage project budgets, schedules, and resource plans. Communicate project status, risks, and mitigation plans to leadership and key stakeholders.
• Ensure engineering activities comply with applicable industry standards, customer requirements, and ISO quality management systems.
• Build strong working relationships with customers, suppliers, and internal stakeholders. Serve as a key technical representative during customer visits, supplier engagements, and cross-functional reviews.
• Identify and mitigate technical, operational, and project risks while ensuring project deliverables meet quality, performance, and cost objectives.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives focused on safety, quality, productivity, automation, capacity expansion, and cost reduction.
• Lead project gate reviews and engineering design reviews, ensuring alignment with technical requirements, business objectives, and stakeholder expectations.
• Travel to customers, suppliers, and other Coherent locations as required.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Materials Science, or related technical field required.
• Minimum 8 years of engineering experience in a manufacturing, product development, or advanced materials environment.
• Minimum 2 years of experience leading projects, technical teams, or direct reports.
• Experience working in cross-functional manufacturing environments required.
• PMP certification or formal project management training preferred.
• Prior people leadership experience preferred.

Skills

• Demonstrated ability to lead and develop a small engineering team while balancing technical and operational priorities.
• Strong experience in manufacturing engineering, product development, process improvement, and project execution.
• Experience with advanced materials processing and machining, including ceramics, metal matrix composites, or similar engineered materials, strongly preferred.
• Working knowledge of precision machining methods, including milling, turning, diamond grinding, EDM, laser machining, lapping, and ultrasonic machining.
• Experience with engineering and manufacturing software, including:
• CAD (Creo/ProE, Solid Works, or equivalent)
• CAM (Mastercam, GibbsCAM, SurfCAM, or equivalent)
• CMM/Metrology (PC-DMIS, Calypso, or equivalent)
• Strong project management, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to effectively engage operators, engineers, customers, suppliers, and senior leadership.
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
• Strong customer focus and aptitude for external interfacing with customers, vendors, and strategic partners.

Working Conditions

• Position is in manufacturing environment and requires on-site activities (this is not a work from home position).
• Work schedule is 5 days, 40 hrs per week, first shift.

Physical Requirements

• Required to lift/push/pull a minimum of 35 lbs
• Must be able to…