Lead, Manufacturing Engineer

L3Harris Technologies•Town of Gates, NY

4d•$101,500 - $188,500•Onsite

About The Position

L3Harris’s Optics department in Rochester, New York, is seeking an experienced Process Engineer to support production of high-quality optical components for astronomical, high-energy laser, and earth imaging applications. The role specializes in CNC-controlled deterministic grinding, polishing, and smoothing, particularly sub-aperture deterministic finishing for optical fabrication. The Lead, Manufacturing Engineer develops and improves manufacturing processes for mission-critical optical components, using expertise in grinding and polishing to improve process consistency, product quality, and throughput across the optical fabrication work center. The position also supports the introduction and improvement of fabrication processes and coordinates with engineering, manufacturing, quality, metrology, and planning teams.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and at least 9 years of prior relevant experience; or graduate degree and at least 7 years of prior related experience; or, in lieu of a degree, at least 13 years of prior related experience.
Ability to obtain a Secret security clearance.

Nice To Haves

Have or be able to obtain SSBI with Polygraph.
Ability to support multiple projects in various stages of readiness.
Ability to independently coordinate complex manufacturing and measurement activities.
Experience with large-aperture optics or other demanding precision components.
Experience resolving problems involving both fabrication and metrology.
Strong written and verbal communication skills within and outside the function.
Background in optics, precision machining, polishing, metrology, CNC, or process engineering.
Working knowledge of optical metrology methods, including interferometry, profilometry, spherometer, thickness measurement, and cosmetic inspection.
Background in design for manufacturability for optical components.
Strong, specialized knowledge of optical fabrication consistent with Lead technical roles.
Strong knowledge of optics manufacturing.

Responsibilities

Evaluate technical alternatives and communicate their impact on performance, cost, and schedule.
Prioritize tasks based on schedule requirements and process availability.
Translate complex technical requirements into actionable guidance for engineers and shop-floor technicians.
Develop, optimize, and sustain fabrication processes for high-precision optical components, including grinding, loose-abrasive smoothing, and polishing of materials such as fused silica, Zerodur, ULE, and SiC.
Support fabrication improvement projects to enhance yield, repeatability, throughput, and process capability.
Introduce optical processes into manufacturing by creating process plans, selecting tooling, defining work-holding methods, and establishing in-process inspection steps.
Establish and optimize blocking and deblocking processes for different optical geometries and materials, accounting for alignment, bond integrity, thermal effects, removal forces, and risk of part damage.
Diagnose fabrication issues through structured problem-solving using root-cause analysis, process data, operator feedback, and metrology results.
Partner with quality and metrology teams to verify product conformance and improve correlation between in-process measurements and final optical requirements.
Collaborate across engineering, manufacturing, quality, and planning to standardize best practices and implement process improvements.