Operator Lead

Our Team

You will join a collaborative operations team focused on delivering innovative optical connectivity solutions through operational excellence, continuous improvement, and principled entrepreneurship.

• Provide day-to-day technical guidance, support, and direction to second-shift production personnel
• Assist in coordinating work activities to support production priorities and customer schedules
• Monitor workflow and help address barriers impacting production, quality, safety, and delivery
• Serve as the first point of contact during second shift for operational issues, escalating matters that require supervisor, engineering, quality, or other cross-functional support
• Facilitate effective shift handoffs between first and second shift, including clear communication of production status, priorities, quality concerns, material constraints, equipment issues, and open actions
• Review second-shift staffing, work readiness, and available resources; communicate gaps that may affect safety, quality, or delivery
• Document unresolved issues and open actions to ensure appropriate follow-up by the Production Supervisor or supporting departments

• Train new operators and technicians on manufacturing methods and standard operating procedures
• Assess and provide feedback on operator and technician competency and process understanding, recommending readiness for independent operation
• Support and promote cross-training initiatives to increase workforce flexibility
• Own the creation, revision, and continuous improvement of work instructions, ensuring they are accurate and reflect current manufacturing processes and product requirements

• Serve as a technical expert for fiber optic assembly and manufacturing processes
• Troubleshoot process, equipment, tooling, and quality issues
• Support root cause investigations and corrective actions
• Recommend improvements to processes, fixtures, tooling, and workflow
• Collaborate with engineering to identify and evaluate alternate components and material substitutions and resolve component-related issues

• Promote compliance with work instructions, workmanship standards, and customer requirements
• Ensure quality concerns, process deviations, and nonconformances are identified, communicated, and escalated promptly while supporting containment and recommending corrective actions
• Serve as a technical resource during quality investigations, helping evaluate potential causes and recommending actions to prevent recurrence
• Participate in Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives
• Support the implementation of process improvements, standardized work, organization, and visual management practices to improve operational efficiency and consistency

• Promote a strong safety culture and lead by example
• Identify and communicate safety concerns

• Ability to effectively train, coach, and communicate with personnel across varying skill levels
• High school diploma or equivalent
• Ability to work the assigned second-shift schedule (2pm-12am) and support shift coverage based on business needs
• 5+ years of manufacturing experience
• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills
• Experience reading engineering drawings and process documentation
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications

• Experience in fiber optic manufacturing
• Experience leading teams in a manufacturing environment
• Experience with Lean Manufacturing, 5S, and continuous improvement practices
• Technical certification or equivalent experience
• Bilingual proficiency is highly desirable (English and Spanish preferred)
• SAP experience

For this role, we anticipate paying $22 - $26 per hour. This role is eligible for variable pay, issued as a monetary bonus or in another form.

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.

In order to comply with U.S. export control laws and regulations, this position requires applicants to either provide proof of…