Operations Engineer
Apply now »Date: Apr 27, 2026
Location: Wilmington, NC, US, 28405
Company: Corning
Requisition Number: 74461
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.
Our Optical Communications segment has recently evolved from being a manufacturer of optical fiber and cable, hardware and equipment to being a comprehensive provider of industry-leading optical solutions across the broader communications industry.This segment is classified into two main product groupings – carrier network and enterprise network. The carrier network product group consists primarily of products and solutions for optical-based communications infrastructure for services such as video, data and voice communications. The enterprise network product group consists primarily of optical-based communication networks sold to businesses, governments and individuals for their own use.
Position Overview:
Role has two main components: (1) complete daily manufacturing workstreams as an operations and technical resource, driving activities in production areas to achieve goals for output, quality, and cost efficiency. (2) Investigate and drive improvements for new/manual/inefficient systems. Receives objectives with defined targets and provides direction to operations staff, technical and project teams, and trades personnel under established policies and management guidance. Work is reviewed against objectives by management. Regularly interacts with supervisors, technical teams, project team, customers, and peers at all levels, fostering collaboration through presentations and actionable plans. Iterates departmental project plans monthly and modifies equipment, processes, and documentation to meet project goals.
Job Responsibilities:
- Champion safety - Directly responsible for maintaining a safe work environment. Enforce all safety regulations.
- Implement sustainable manufacturing through receivership to develop robust, scalable processes.
- Establish effective transfer of new process technologies to manufacturing to delivery cost savings and on-time product/process launch.
- Align needs and outputs between Technology and Engineering in the implementation and evaluation of development and department experiments.
- Track daily output and flex labor/capacity across glassmaking operations.
- Identify recurring ware movement issues and develop systems to reduce/eliminate the issues.
- Manage ware flow and inventory, resolving slow-moving or misplaced items. Ensure accurate ware accounting, loss codes, and manual scrapping practices. Plan and schedule development ware/experiments
- Define, scope, and implement projects to improve available performance data systems/diagnostics. Identify gaps in performance/data systems. Work with external resources to implement tools and training to include opportunities for AI.
- Lead and execute cost reduction projects within the organization: labor efficiency, waste reduction, and equipment capability.
- Develop and track preventive maintenance and upgrade the completion of new equipment.
- Oversee auxiliary equipment readiness, repairs, and support for volume ramp-up.
- Lead safety analyses, training coordination, and operational support for new technology rollouts.
- Coordinate equipment starts, monitor downstream performance, and improve utilization.
- Lean manufacturing - Identify opportunities to improve wareflow, operational efficiency/flexibility, and communication to maximize output and eliminate bottlenecks.
Required Job/Skills/Education:
- Technical bachelor's degree: Industrial/mechanical/chemical engineering preferred
- Technical knowledge/ability, Lean experience, operations experience
- 2-4+ years of manufacturing experience strongly preferred
- General technical curiosity and capacity to learn complex manufacturing process flow and/or equipment systems.
- Demonstrate skills managing complex ware paths
- High individual initiative, self-management, and emotional intelligence.
- Identifies and resolves potential future problems before they impact production
- Strong decision making and prioritization skills
- Ability to understand tasks/tools/resources required to complete complex jobs and capable of streamlining/improving jobs.
- People management - Ability to lead teams of manufacturing and technical resources.
- Strong team player, capable of effectively engaging with employees at all levels – partnering with resources across multiple groups (associates to plant manager).
- Effective communicator of group initiatives (associates to plant manager)
Hours of Work:
- 8-10 hours/day; 40-50 hours/week.
- Supports 24/7 production operation with rotating on-call schedule
Travel:
- Limited, <5%
This position does not support immigration sponsorship.
The range for this position is $81,677.00 - $112,306.00 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.
Your well-being is our priority. Our compensation and benefits package supports your health and wellness, financial aspirations, and career from day one.
- Company-wide bonuses and long-term incentives align with key business results and ensure you are rewarded when the company performs well. When Corning wins, we all win.
- As part of our commitment to your financial well-being, we provide a 100% company-paid pension benefit with fixed contributions that grow throughout your career. Combined with matching contributions to your 401(k) savings plan, Corning’s total contributions to your retirement accounts can reach between 7% and 12% of your pay, depending on your age and years of service.
- Our health and well-being benefits include medical, dental, vision, paid parental leave, family building support, fitness, company-paid life insurance, disability, disease management programs, paid time off, and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to support you and your family.
- Getting paid for our work is important, but feeling appreciated and recognized for those contributions motivates us much more. That’s why Corning offers a recognition program to celebrate successes and reward colleagues who make exceptional contributions.
We prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, veteran status or any other legally protected status.
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.
Nearest Major Market: Wilmington