Senior Coating Engineer

IDEX Corporation•Albuquerque, NM

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Coating Engineer is responsible for the development, design, qualification, optimization, and transfer of advanced optical coating and thin film technologies supporting new product introduction and strategic business initiatives. This role serves as a technical leader and subject matter expert for optical coating design, thin film technologies, coating performance, and next generation coating capabilities, partnering closely with engineering, operations, quality, and customers to develop innovative and manufacturable solutions. This role leads coating engineering activities from concept through production release, including coating design, technology development, equipment qualification, product qualification, and manufacturing transfer. The Senior Coating Engineer drives technical problem solving, supports strategic technology investments, and contributes to the advancement of coating capabilities across the organization. The role works extensively within cleanroom and manufacturing environments and serves as a key technical resource for optical coating technologies. While primarily an individual contributor role, this position provides technical leadership, project leadership, and mentorship to engineers and technicians and may have future people leadership responsibilities.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Optical Engineering, Physics, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical field required
5+ years of experience in optical coatings, thin film technologies, photonics, semiconductor manufacturing, or advanced optical manufacturing environments
Experience developing optical coating designs and supporting coating technology development in a manufacturing environment
Experience supporting new product introduction, product qualification, and manufacturing transfer activities
Experience utilizing Essential Macleod or equivalent thin film design software required
Demonstrated experience with optical coatings, thin films, vacuum deposition, or related coating technologies
Experience leading technical problem solving, root cause investigations, and corrective action activities
Experience supporting equipment qualification, validation, and technology implementation efforts
Experience translating customer requirements into manufacturable coating solutions
Experience working in cleanroom, ISO-regulated, semiconductor, photonics, aerospace, defense, or other advanced manufacturing environments preferred
Strong knowledge of optical coatings, thin film deposition processes, and coating performance characteristics
Proficiency with Essential Macleod or equivalent thin film design and modeling software
Strong understanding of optical coating design, thin film modeling, spectral analysis, optical performance characteristics, and optical metrology techniques
Understanding of vacuum systems, deposition equipment, metrology systems, and manufacturing principles
Knowledge of technology development, product qualification, and manufacturing transfer methodologies
Familiarity with coating technologies such as sputtering, evaporation, ion assisted deposition, ion beam deposition, or related thin film processes
Experience applying Lean manufacturing, statistical analysis, and data driven decision making principles
Ability to translate customer requirements into manufacturable coating solutions
Ability to interpret technical drawings, specifications, and customer requirements
Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem solving skills
Strong project management, organizational, and prioritization skills
Effective communication and collaboration skills across technical and non technical teams

Nice To Haves

advanced degree (Master’s or PhD) preferred
Experience providing technical leadership, customer engagement, and mentorship preferred

Responsibilities

Lead coating engineering activities supporting new product introduction from concept through production release
Develop and optimize optical coating designs to meet customer performance requirements and manufacturing objectives using Essential Macleod or equivalent thin film design software
Serve as the technical subject matter expert for optical coatings, thin film technologies, and deposition processes
Evaluate emerging coating technologies, materials, and equipment and recommend investments that expand technical and manufacturing capabilities
Lead the specification, acquisition, qualification, and implementation of new coating chambers, metrology systems, and related technologies
Develop coating technologies and manufacturing methods that support successful product introduction, scalability, and long term production performance
Lead the transfer and qualification of new coating technologies and products from development into manufacturing
Design, execute, and analyze experiments to evaluate coating performance, manufacturability, and technical improvements
Lead root cause investigations, failure analysis activities, and corrective actions related to coating performance and product quality
Partner with manufacturing, quality, and operations teams to resolve technical challenges, improve coating performance, and drive continuous improvement initiatives
Collaborate with customers and internal stakeholders to define technical requirements and develop coating solutions
Represent coating engineering in customer technical discussions, issue resolution activities, ongoing projects, and new business opportunities
Participate in design reviews, manufacturability assessments, and technical risk evaluations for new products
Define and track key performance indicators related to coating performance, technology effectiveness, product qualification, and successful transfer to manufacturing
Provide technical leadership and mentorship to engineers, technicians, and cross functional teams supporting coating development and manufacturing activities
Lead or support cross functional engineering projects and carry out additional responsibilities as needed to support engineering and business objectives