Operations and Engineering Manager

Role Purpose

The Operations & Engineering Manager leads new manufacturing operations and the associated engineering support to ensure safe, stable, and effective execution of manufacturing activities. The role is accountable for line performance, technical problem-solving, operational readiness, and cross-functional coordination necessary to support pilot builds, validation, process learning, and readiness for manufacturing scale-up.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead safe, stable, and effective operation of the new manufacturing operations, integrating daily manufacturing execution with the engineering support needed to sustain and improve performance.
• Own new manufacturing operations performance across safety, quality, delivery, yield, throughput, uptime, cost, and schedule attainment.
• Establish and maintain the operating systems for the manufacturing operations, including standard work, procedures, training, staffing, escalation processes, and support models.
• Provide leadership for engineering support activities related to process performance, equipment reliability, troubleshooting, controls, validation support, and continuous improvement.
• Partner with Process Development and other technical functions to transfer process knowledge into new manufacturing operations and clarify ownership of process, equipment, and operational support.
• Ensure readiness of equipment, tooling, materials, documentation, staffing, maintenance, and engineering resources to support builds, trials, and validation activity.
• Lead cross-functional issue resolution for complex operational, process, equipment, and material challenges using structured problem-solving and root cause analysis.
• Interpret and execute manufacturing, engineering, quality, and safety policies and procedures for new manufacturing, and recommend improvements as needed to support pilot operations.
• Build, lead, and develop a capable manufacturing team, including operators, technicians, engineers, and/or technical staff, to deliver against program and operational objectives.
• Communicate line performance, technical risks, priorities, resource needs, and key learnings to stakeholders and leadership, while supporting readiness for scale-up and transfer to higher-volume manufacturing.

Experiences/Education - Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Industrial Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in operations management or engineering management within a manufacturing or technical production environment.

Experiences/Education - Desired

• Advanced Degree.
• Experience launching, operating, or scaling a pilot line, new production line, or new manufacturing process.
• Experience in the optics, glass, optical materials industry experience.
• Experience with process transfer, new product introduction, validation, change control, or manufacturing scale-up.
• Familiarity with lean manufacturing, KPI management, standard work, and visual management.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams in a fast-paced technical manufacturing environment.