Thin Film Process Engineer

PGS Worldwide•Santa Rosa, CA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

PGS Worldwide is seeking a Thin Film Process Engineer in Santa Rosa, California for an approximately one-year onsite contract-to-hire role supporting a leading aerospace & defense company. This position will lead the technical development and production of advanced optical thin-film coating solutions, with a focus on sputtering and evaporation processes. The engineer will serve as a technical resource across multiple programs while supporting process development, manufacturing, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Materials Science, Physics, or a related technical discipline.
10–15 years of experience with advanced thin-film coatings.
Extensive experience with sputtering and evaporation equipment, processes, and coating designs.
Experience developing and supporting production of advanced thin-film technology solutions.
Experience with optical thin-film products and manufacturing processes.
Proficiency with one or more thin-film design tools such as TFCalc, OptiLayer, FilmStar, or FilmWizard.
Experience using advanced analytical and metrology equipment.
Strong analytical and critical-thinking skills with a data-driven approach to technical decision-making.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to collaborate effectively with customers, vendors, program managers, engineers, technicians, and other stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

Previous technical leadership experience.
Experience mentoring and training engineers or manufacturing technicians.

Responsibilities

Develop and optimize sputtering and evaporation processes for advanced optical thin-film coatings.
Support the technical development and production of thin-film-based products and technology solutions.
Use thin-film design software to develop, analyze, and optimize coating designs.
Apply analytical and metrology tools to evaluate coating performance and manufacturing results.
Serve as a primary technical point of contact for multiple programs and internal program managers.
Investigate process and product performance issues and develop data-driven technical solutions.
Support manufacturing teams in transitioning new thin-film technologies and processes into production.
Work with customers, vendors, engineers, and manufacturing personnel to address technical requirements and challenges.
Mentor and provide technical guidance to less-experienced engineers and manufacturing technicians as needed.
Drive disciplined technical execution in a fast-paced, dynamic technology environment.