Engineering Department Head, Die Mfg.

Role Purpose: 

Corning Environmental Technologies is seeking a Department Head of Die Manufacturing to lead the die manufacturing operations that produce the extrusion die tooling at the heart of our ceramic substrate and particulate filter products. Operating in a machine shop / high-precision machining / chemical manufacturing environment, this leader owns the manufacturing engineering strategy, execution, and organizational capability of a die operation that is mission-critical to Corning's global CET manufacturing network. While the role carries single-site authority, its output directly enables product quality, capacity, and launch readiness across CET plants worldwide. This is fundamentally a run-and-improve leadership role: making a critical, complex operation faster, higher-quality, more cost-effective, and more capable, while building the bench strength of the engineering and technician teams beneath you. Success requires strong manufacturing engineering leadership first, forming/extrusion tooling insight second, focus on customer satisfaction, and process knowledge as a valuable complement.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the die manufacturing engineering department’s daily operations and long-term strategy within a high-precision machining and chemical manufacturing environment. Oversee managers, engineers, and technicians to improve die quality, reduce correction cycles, lower lead times and costs, and ensure designs meet customer and production needs.

   

• Drive customer satisfaction by partnering with forming sites and cross-functional teams across the global CET network to solve problems and align on priorities. Support divisional growth by advancing capacity, capability, automation, Lean initiatives, and engineering excellence standards.

   

• Develop team capability through coaching, succession planning, and organizational growth while maintaining strong operational discipline through metrics, safety, quality standards, and data-driven decision-making.

   

• Success in the first 12–18 months includes measurable improvements in die yield and first-pass quality, reduced lead time and cost, progress in automation and capability expansion, stronger customer satisfaction, and deeper team capability and succession strength.

Experiences/Education - Required:

• BS in Engineering (Mechanical, Manufacturing, Ceramic, Industrial, or related discipline).
• 8+ years of progressive experience in manufacturing engineering, with demonstrated leadership responsibility.
• Proven people-leadership experience — manager-of-managers preferred; a strong single-layer manager ready to step up will be considered.
• Track record of leading manufacturing engineering in a precision machining, tooling, chemical manufacturing, or job-shop environment.
• Demonstrated ability to drive quality, cost, delivery, and continuous-improvement results through teams.

Experiences/Education - Desired:

• Experience in forming and extrusion tooling, ideally in ceramic honeycomb substrate manufacturing or a comparable precision extrusion die manufacturing environment, with working knowledge of CNC, EDM, die design (CAD/CAM), and precision finishing processes.

• Strong background in PCPD (Product/Process Commercialization & Development) or a similar stage-gate discipline, along with fluency in Lean, structured problem-solving methodologies, and Engineering Excellence practices and standards.

• Advanced technical foundation, including an MS in Engineering or a related field.

• Proven leadership competencies in cross-functional influence across a global matrix without direct authority, talent development and succession building, driving change through Lean and continuous improvement, and making disciplined, data-driven decisions grounded in metrics, root-cause analysis, and operational rigor.