Process Engineering Lead - Coating

Requisition Number: 73761

The company built on breakthroughs. ​  
Join us.​                    

Corning is one of the world’s leading innovators in glass, ceramic, and materials science. From the depths of the ocean to the farthest reaches of space, our technologies push the boundaries of what’s possible.  ​  

How do we do this? With our people. They break through limitations and expectations – not once in a career, but every day. They help move our company, and the world, forward. ​  

​At Corning, there are endless possibilities for making an impact. You can help connect the unconnected, drive the future of automobiles, transform at-home entertainment, and ensure the delivery of lifesaving medicines. And so much more.​   

Come break through with us.  

Corning’s businesses are ever-evolving to best serve our customers, industries, and consumers. Today, we accelerate and transform life sciences, mobile consumer electronics, optical communications, display, automotive, and solar markets. We are changing the world with: 

• Trusted products that accelerate drug discovery, development, and delivery to save lives
• Damage-resistant cover glass to enhance the devices that keep us connected
• Optical fiber, wireless technologies, and connectivity solutions to carry information and ideas at the speed of light
• Precision glass for advanced displays to deliver richer experiences 
• Auto glass and ceramics to drive cleaner, safer, and smarter transportation 
• Solar polysilicon, wafers, and innovative photovoltaic modules, enabling low-cost solar energy solutions

Position Overview:

The Coating Process Engineering Lead provides technical leadership and people leadership for coating process engineering in a high-mix optical manufacturing environment. This role is accountable for safe, stable, and capable coating operations, continuous improvement, and the development of a multi-disciplinary engineering team supporting production, new product introduction, and future capability expansion.

Key Responsibilities:

Engineering & Technical Leadership

• Lead coating process engineering support for vacuum coating chambers and associated cleaning and inspection processes
• Specify, qualify, and improve optical thin-film coating processes that build from existing designs and manufacturing foundations
• Drive root cause investigations and corrective actions using structured problem-solving methodologies (DOE, Six Sigma, hypothesis trees)
• Own process documentation, specifications, and change management (routers, work instructions, process sheets)

Operational Support:

• Provide day-to-day engineering support for production issues
• Partner with operations to maintain manufacturing capability, throughput, and schedule adherence
• Lead qualification of new equipment, processes, materials, and recipes to eliminate single points of failure
• Support customer requests, audits, and issue resolution as a technical point of contact

Continuous Improvement & Capability Expansion:

• Lead projects to reduce cost through scrap, cycle-time, and complexity reduction
• Apply metrology and data analytics to monitor and improve coating performance
• Support new product introductions and scale-up from development to production
• Contribute to long-term technology and capacity planning

People Leadership:

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of process engineers and technicians
• Set technical direction, priorities, and workload balancing across shifts and programs
• Provide performance feedback, mentoring, and succession development
• Foster a strong safety culture and inclusive engineering environment

Required Education & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or Science (Optical, Physics, Materials, Chemical, Mechanical, or related)
• 5+ years of experience in a process engineering role supporting manufacturing
• Demonstrated ability to lead technical teams and influence across organizations
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Six Sigma Green Belt / Black Belt or equivalent training

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with optical thin-film coating or vacuum deposition processes
• Knowledge of metrology tools (interferometers, spectrophotometers, ellipsometers, SEM, profilometers)
• Experience in high-mix manufacturing environments
• Experience managing people and teams

Hours of work:

• Typical first shift production hours, M-F, 8am-5pm. Extra and off hours may be required during times of heightened project activity in order to meet deliverables.

Required to sign a covenant not to compete.

This position does not support immigration sponsorship.

The range for this position is $84,932.00 - $116,782.00 assuming full time status. Starting pay for the successful applicant is dependent on a variety of job-related factors, including but not limited to geographic location, market demands, experience, training, and education. 

A job that shapes a life.  

Corning offers you the total package.  

Corning is committed to providing equal employment opportunities and considers requests for reasonable accommodations in accordance with applicable laws. Individuals with disabilities or sincerely held religious beliefs may request reasonable accommodations to participate in the application or interview process, perform essential job functions, or access other benefits and privileges of employment. To submit a request for reasonable accommodation related to disability or religion, please contact us at accommodations@corning.com.