Full-Time

Manufacturing Technician

Multiple Openings and Levels

Posted on 8/17/2026

LightForce

LightForce

201-500 employees

3D printed personalized braces and trays

No salary listed

Burlington, MA, USA

In Person

Bachelor's, Associate's

Category
Operations & Logistics (2)
,

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Requirements
  • Basic computer knowledge, such as using Microsoft Office Suite and Google Suite
  • Must demonstrate acute attention to detail and organizational skills
  • Critical understanding of the importance of documentation and data traceability
  • Familiarity with executing Standard Operating Procedures in a manufacturing or assembly environment
  • Must be able to work well independently and in a team environment
  • Must have the ability to work safely and conscientiously in a manufacturing environment
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills as well as a passion for learning
  • Basic proficiency speaking and understanding English
Responsibilities
  • Set up, operate, and monitor manufacturing equipment performing tasks required to build the product and prepare it for shipment worldwide
  • Follow specifications, job orders, work instructions, and quality procedures to produce specific products in accordance with our quality system
  • Maintain product traceability throughout the manufacturing process
  • Become fully trained, and follow all safety procedures for the operation and use of equipment
  • Inspect product; set up and operate manufacturing equipment
  • Inspect incoming materials as per inspection procedures as needed
  • Inspect materials, products, and equipment to detect defects or malfunctions
  • Route product samples for quality control inspection according to procedure
  • Ensure that equipment operations conform to production or process standards
  • Support the training or cross-training of operators that are new to the work area
  • Contribute actively to safety and quality system improvement programs
  • Maintain a clean and organized work area, and assure proper disposal of waste materials
  • Comply with all Company policies including safety, operating procedures, quality, attendance, and proper on-the-job conduct
Desired Qualifications
  • Education: Associate or Bachelor's Degree in manufacturing or related field is preferred but not required
  • Experience in professional-level manufacturing is a plus
  • Experience in 3D printing is a plus

LightForce Orthodontics provides customized, 3D-printed orthodontic solutions for dental clinics. The core offering is personalized braces that are 3D printed to match each patient’s tooth shape, resulting in stronger bonding and full freedom of tooth movement. The company also sells LightTrays, patient-specific indirect bonding trays made from a proprietary material, which speed up and simplify bracket bonding and are only compatible with LightForce braces. All products are managed through LightPlan, a web-based platform that lets clinicians design, adjust, and approve every aspect of a treatment plan. The business model revolves around selling these personalized brackets, bonding trays, and access to the LightPlan platform to dental clinics and orthodontists. Overall, the goal is to streamline orthodontic treatment by combining digital design, 3D printing, and an integrated planning and bonding workflow to improve efficiency and outcomes for patients.

Company Size

201-500

Company Stage

Growth Equity (Venture Capital)

Total Funding

$200.6M

Headquarters

Burlington, Massachusetts

Founded

2015

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • LightBracket Metal launched April 28, 2026, targeting the majority metal-bracket segment.
  • The July 16, 2026 CEO change supports manufacturing scale, sales execution, and category expansion.
  • 200,000 treated patients validate demand and strengthen LightForce's credibility with orthodontic practices.

What critics are saying

  • Align's 2026 subpoena fight exposes LightForce to discovery on revenue and customer scanner usage.
  • LightForce still depends on orthodontist adoption; standard brackets and aligners remain entrenched competitors.
  • If metal rollout stalls, LightForce stays a niche ceramic vendor inside a crowded orthodontics market.

What makes LightForce unique

  • LightForce's 2026 Generative Braces create patient-specific ceramic and metal brackets from digital plans.
  • The company claims 200,000 treated patients and the largest U.S. directly 3D-printed medical-device facility.
  • Erica Rogers joined as CEO on July 16, 2026, signaling disciplined medtech commercialization.

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Benefits

Unlimited Paid Time Off

Paid Vacation

Paid Holidays

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Life Insurance

401(k) Retirement Plan

401(k) Company Match

Paid Parental Leave

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

0%

1 year growth

0%

2 year growth

0%
Dentistry Today
Jul 16th, 2026
LightForce names Erica Rogers chief executive officer.

LightForce names Erica Rogers chief executive officer. * July 16, 2026 * 3 minutes read * 5 hours ago Proven medtech executive will partner with founder Dr. Alfred Griffin as LightForce accelerates its transition from technology validation to commercial scale. LightForce Orthodontics has appointed Erica Rogers as chief executive officer as the company enters its next phase of commercial growth. Rogers will lead the expansion of the LightForce Generative Braces system across an estimated $10 billion global orthodontics market. From Technology Validation to Commercial Scale Rogers' appointment comes as LightForce reaches a significant commercial milestone, with more than 200,000 patients treated using its fully customized 3D-printed bracket system, a testament to the growing adoption of personalized digital orthodontics. The LightForce Generative Braces system combines doctor-directed digital treatment planning, patient-specific ceramic and metal appliances, direct 3D printing, and guided placement. Rather than fitting patients to a standardized bracket prescription, LightForce generates an individual prescription for every tooth according to the doctor's intended outcome, bringing fixed orthodontic treatment into an all-digital workflow alongside aligner therapy. "LightForce has reached an extraordinary moment in its journey," said Rogers. "The company has proved it can operate at commercial scale and earned the trust of orthodontists who are redefining how treatment is delivered. Our focus now is to scale that impact and advance orthodontics toward a new standard of care." Rogers brings more than 30 years of medical technology leadership and experience building and commercializing new categories of care. As chief executive officer of Silk Road Medical, she led the company through commercial expansion, its 2019 initial public offering, and its subsequent acquisition by Boston Scientific. Rogers has served on the LightForce board of directors for the past two years and has worked closely with the company's leadership team, employees, customers, and investors. Her appointment is a natural extension of that involvement and gives LightForce a leader who already understands its technology, market, and commercial opportunity. Partnering to Advance a New Standard of Care Rogers succeeds LightForce founder Dr. Alfred Griffin, DMD, PhD, MMSc, who founded the company on the premise that if every patient is unique, every bracket should be, too, and pioneered the Generative Braces category in 2019. Griffin will remain chairman of the board and, in his new role as chief product officer, continue to lead the company's innovation roadmap, product portfolio, and category advocacy. He will also work to strengthen LightForce's presence in orthodontic practices and teaching institutions while partnering closely with Rogers on the company's strategy and growth. "LightForce's success has created an opportunity to expand under a leader with Erica's experience scaling medical technologies, building organizations, and establishing new categories of patient care," Griffin said. "Having worked closely with her for two years, I know Erica is the right leader to accelerate the availability and adoption of generative braces and multiply what our talented team has already built." "I've known Erica for many years and first partnered with her during the growth of Silk Road Medical," said Kevin Reilly, managing director and head of medtech at Ally Bridge Group, and a member of the LightForce board of directors. "I saw her ability to build exceptional teams, execute with discipline, and convert breakthrough technology into category leadership. Her leadership positions LightForce to scale generative braces adoption and compound value for patients, customers, employees, and investors." Under Rogers' leadership, LightForce will focus on expanding the adoption of generative braces, increasing manufacturing scale, and advancing its ceramic and metal product portfolio. About LightForce Orthodontics LightForce pioneered generative braces in 2019 with a radical idea: if every tooth is unique, every bracket should be, too. This shortens treatment times and improves outcomes. Today, the company's digital platform generates a patient-specific set of ceramic or metal appliances from each orthodontist's treatment plan, the first major breakthrough in fixed orthodontics in more than 50 years. Fixed brackets make up about 75% of orthodontic starts in North America, making them the dominant market category in orthodontics. The advancement of generative orthodontics into fixed metal and ceramic appliances enables practices to realize the gains of a fully digital practice, regardless of appliance type, unlocking a global opportunity of more than $10 billion. The company was named to Forbes' America's Best Startup Employers list and operates the world's largest facility for directly 3D-printed functional medical devices by volume in the United States. The orthodontist designs the smile. LightForce brings it into existence. Every bracket is born from light and made for one. For more information, visit lf.co.

Citybiz
Jul 16th, 2026
LightForce names Erica Rogers CEO to drive global expansion of Generative Braces.

LightForce names Erica Rogers CEO to drive global expansion of Generative Braces. July 16, 2026 Erica Rogers LightForce Orthodontics has appointed medtech executive Erica Rogers as chief executive officer, positioning the company for its next phase of commercial growth as it expands adoption of its Generative Braces platform across the estimated $10 billion global orthodontics market. The leadership transition follows a key commercial milestone for the company, which has now treated more than 200,000 patients with its fully customized 3D-printed bracket system. The achievement reflects growing adoption of digital, personalized orthodontic treatment as practices increasingly incorporate technology-driven workflows into patient care. LightForce's Generative Braces system integrates doctor-directed digital treatment planning with patient-specific ceramic and metal brackets, direct 3D printing and guided bracket placement. Rather than relying on standardized bracket prescriptions, the platform creates an individualized prescription for every tooth based on the orthodontist's treatment objectives, enabling a fully digital workflow for fixed orthodontic treatment alongside aligner therapy. "LightForce has reached an extraordinary moment in its journey," Rogers said. "The company has proved it can operate at commercial scale and earned the trust of orthodontists who are redefining how treatment is delivered. Our focus now is to scale that impact and advance orthodontics toward a new standard of care." Rogers brings more than three decades of medical technology leadership and experience commercializing new healthcare categories. She previously served as chief executive officer of Silk Road Medical, where she led the company's commercial expansion, its 2019 initial public offering and its subsequent acquisition by Boston Scientific. She has also served on the LightForce board of directors for the past two years, working closely with the company's leadership team, customers, employees and investors. Rogers succeeds founder Alfred Griffin, DMD, PhD, MMSc, who launched LightForce on the premise that every patient's unique anatomy should be matched with customized orthodontic brackets. Griffin introduced the Generative Braces category in 2019 and will remain chairman of the board while assuming the newly created role of chief product officer. In that position, he will oversee the company's product strategy, innovation roadmap and category development efforts while continuing to engage with orthodontic practices and academic institutions. "LightForce's success has created an opportunity to expand under a leader with Erica's experience scaling medical technologies, building organizations and establishing new categories of patient care," Griffin said. "Having worked closely with her for two years, I know Erica is the right leader to accelerate the availability and adoption of generative braces and multiply what our talented team has already built." Kevin Reilly, managing director and head of medtech at Ally Bridge Group and a member of the LightForce board, said Rogers has a proven track record of building organizations around emerging medical technologies. "I saw her ability to build exceptional teams, execute with discipline, and convert breakthrough technology into category leadership," he said. "Her leadership positions LightForce to scale generative braces adoption and compound value for patients, customers, employees, and investors." Under Rogers' leadership, LightForce plans to expand market adoption of its generative braces platform, increase manufacturing capacity and continue developing its ceramic and metal product portfolio. The company says fixed braces account for roughly 75% of orthodontic treatment starts in North America, making the category a significant opportunity for digital workflow adoption. LightForce operates what it describes as the world's largest U.S. facility dedicated to directly 3D-printing functional medical devices by volume and was previously recognized on Forbes' list of America's Best Startup Employers.

3D Printing Industry
Apr 29th, 2026
LightForce launches innovative orthodontic metal brackets.

LightForce launches innovative orthodontic metal brackets. Custom 3D printed orthodontic brackets provider LightForce Orthodontics has launched LightBracket Metal, a patient-specific 3D printed metal bracket the company describes as the first of its kind. It extends LightForce's individualized bracket system beyond ceramics and into the segment that accounts for 65% of orthodontic patients worldwide. That is a meaningful shift in scope. A source cited by the provider states that the global orthodontic market is worth $4.7 billion, and metal brackets are what 65% of patients choose, including teenagers. LightForce's existing ceramic system has already shown what the underlying approach can do, cutting appointments by up to 60% and treatment times by up to 43% compared to conventional braces. LightBracket Metal is the company's attempt to bring those same results to the part of the market it had not yet reached. "For more than a century, orthodontics relied on a stock bracket for patients who were never stock. LightBracket Metal changes the order of things. We're giving doctors the most exact instrument they've ever had for the work they were born to do," said Dr. Alfred Griffin, founder and CEO of LightForce Orthodontics. The Engineering Behind Generative Braces The product sits within what LightForce calls "generative braces," a category built on one central idea: the treatment plan is the input, and the bracket is the output. Each bracket is generated from the orthodontist's digital plan and individualized across six parameters, covering the bracket base, slot height, slot prescription, bracket position, tie wings, and hooks. The base is shaped to the morphology of the specific tooth it will bond to. Three slot sizes are available, .018", .020", and .022", with bidimensional combinations, and the indirect bonding trays are generated algorithmically, which allows bonding to be delegated to clinical staff. That last point matters because it gets at what separates this from conventional orthodontics. With standard brackets, the prescription is fixed and the clinician compensates for individual patient variation through manual adjustments across multiple appointments. LightForce moves that work upstream, building the variation into the bracket itself before it ever reaches the chair. Located in the United States, the company operates what it describes as the world's largest facility for directly 3D printed functional medical devices by volume. The ceramic bracket system was where that manufacturing model was first validated. LightBracket Metal uses a proprietary metal 3D printing process, though LightForce has not disclosed the specific technology involved. The rollout to practices is now underway. LightForce will show the product publicly for the first time at the American Association of Orthodontists Annual Session in Orlando from May 1 through 3, 2026, followed by a clinical webinar on May 7 featuring Griffin and a case review from contributing doctors. Building a Foundation for Scale LightForce launched its first 3D printed ceramic bracket system in 2019 with FDA clearance, built on a light-based 3D printing process and cloud-based treatment planning software. A $14 million Series B followed in September 2020, led by Tyche Partners with participation from Matrix Partners and AM Ventures, with capital directed at scaling operations to meet growing demand. A $50 million Series C led by Kleiner Perkins came in November 2021, a year in which the company posted 500% revenue growth and tripled its team. Kleiner Perkins' involvement was notable: the firm had previously invested in Invisalign's maker Align Technology, and described LightForce investment as the "second wave of orthodontics digitization" after backing the first through clear aligners. An $80 million Series D led by Ally Bridge Group followed in August 2023, with funds directed at scaling production through a new facility and advancing AI in its workflows. Through all of that, the ceramic bracket remained the company's only product. LightBracket Metal is the first time LightForce has extended its manufacturing platform to a different bracket material. Until now, LightForce's individualized manufacturing model had been primarily established through its ceramic bracket system. Expanding into the metal segment, which comprises 65% of the orthodontic market, is more than a product extension; it is the point at which the generative braces model is tested at the scale of the majority market. 3D Printing Industry is inviting speakers for its 2026 Additive Manufacturing Applications (AMA) series, covering Energy, Healthcare, Automotive and Mobility, Aerospace, Space and Defense, and Software. Each online event focuses on real production deployments, qualification, and supply chain integration. Practitioners interested in contributing can complete the call for speakers form here. Explore the full Future of 3D Printing and Executive Survey series from 3D Printing Industry, featuring perspectives from CEOs, engineers, and industry leaders on the industrialization of additive manufacturing, 3D printing industry trends 2026, qualification, supply chains, and additive manufacturing industry analysis. Featured image shows LightBracket Metal alongside LightForce's treatment planning software. Image via LightForce Orthodontics.

Business Wire
Apr 28th, 2026
LightForce Orthodontics launches 3D-printed metal braces, reducing treatment time by 43%

LightForce Orthodontics has launched LightBracket Metal, the first patient-specific 3D-printed metal bracket, expanding access to what the company calls "generative braces". Each bracket is generated from an individual orthodontist's digital treatment plan and customised across six dimensions, including bracket base, slot height and tie wings. The Boston-based company pioneered generative braces in 2019 with ceramic brackets, which demonstrated 60% fewer appointments and 43% shorter treatment times compared to conventional braces. The metal option now addresses the majority of the $4.7 billion orthodontics market, particularly teenage patients who prefer metal braces. LightForce, backed by $200 million from investors including Kleiner Perkins and the American Association of Orthodontists, operates the world's largest facility for directly 3D-printed functional medical devices by volume.

Pulse 2.0
Sep 5th, 2024
LightForce Orthodontics Raises $50M Funding

LightForce Orthodontics has secured $50 million in growth capital from Trinity Capital. LightForce specializes in 3D-printed personalized braces, utilizing AI for accurate digital representations of patient anatomy. Ryan Kaeding of Trinity praised LightForce's innovative technology, while CEO Alfred Griffin III expressed excitement about the partnership and its role in driving business growth.