Film Developer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Job Type
Full-time
Description
ABOUT US
G&H is a world leader in optical designing, testing and manufacturing. As experts in the technology of light, G&H works with customers to provide optical systems, assemblies, and components for demanding applications
Headquartered in Ilminster Somerset, UK with primary operations in the USA and Europe, G&H is recognized for the breadth of their acousto-optic, electro-optic, crystal-optic, fiber optic, and precision optic products. G&H is recognized as the preferred source for OEMs in the life sciences, industrial, and aerospace and defense industries, with a history of quality and excellence that dates back over seventy-five years.
ROLE
G&H's Moorpark site manufactures precision optical components for aerospace, defense, and other applications. The Optical Coatings department produces high-performance thin film coatings using ion beam sputtering (IBS).
We are looking for a Coating Department Engineer to lead the production, process engineering, and equipment maintenance activities of a specialized department. This is a hands-on role with direct supervisory responsibility for a technician team and comprehensive ownership of deposition chambers.
The right candidate will combine strong process engineering fundamentals with practical equipment aptitude and the ability to manage production in a low-volume, high-precision environment. This is not a back-office role. You will be on the floor, in the chambers, and directly involved in production outcomes every day. The equipment mix creates a breadth of engineering challenge. Your individual effectiveness will have a direct and visible impact on site performance.
RESPONSIBILITIES & PERFORMANCE MEASURES
• Perform production coatings with statistical process control.
• Work with a team or alone to prepare, operate, and maintain coating equipment.
• Clean and inspect optical surfaces.
• Evaluate and improve production yields.
• Interact with team members and customers to solve quality related issues.
• Design coatings, tooling, and optimize processes.
• Generate and revise documentation for the manufacturing, inspection, and maintenance procedures.
• Align goals with the company's core values: customer focus, integrity, action, unity, and precision.
• Continuously raise individual performance to proactively address problem-solving and continuous improvement.
• Additional tasks as assigned by management.
QUALIFICATIONS & SKILLS
• Knowledge of optical coatings (design and manufacturing) and metrology.
• Hands-on experience with high vacuum equipment and tooling design.
• Proficiency in an optical coating production environment.
• Team player with strong verbal and written communication skills who works well in complex cross-functional situations.
• Experience for cleaning precision optics a plus.
• At least 5 years of experience in optical thin film.
• Or bachelor's degree with 2 years of experience in optical coating production.
• BS or MS in physics, materials science, optical engineering, or related discipline (equivalent experience considered)
• Demonstrated experience in thin film deposition, preferably ion beam sputtering
• Hands-on experience with vacuum system maintenance, troubleshooting, and repair
• Experience in a production environment with accountability for throughput and quality
• Ability to supervise and lead a technical team
• Must be a U.S. Person as defined under ITAR
Strongly Preferred:
• Ion beam sputtering experience. This is the single most impactful qualification a candidate can bring. IBS/Spector experience dramatically reduces ramp-up time on our core production platforms.
• Optical metrology expertise: you will be responsible for spectrophotometers, cavity ring-down spectroscopy, microscopy, etc.
• Thin film coating design skill, including familiarity with TFCalc or Essential Macleod
• Comfort in a department where the engineer is involved at every level, from production planning to hands-on chamber work
What You'll Own
Production execution : Schedule, prioritize, and drive coating production to meet site throughput requirements. Coordinate with upstream and downstream operations. Manage work-in-process and ensure on-time delivery.
Process engineering : Own the coating processes across all chambers: monitor and optimize deposition parameters, troubleshoot yield and quality issues, and maintain process control. Respond to variations in deposition rate and refractive index.
Equipment maintenance and reliability : Own equipment uptime - from routine preventive maintenance through diagnosis and repair of failures. The chambers require resourcefulness, component knowledge, and a willingness to work through problems with and without vendor support.
Metrology : Use spectrophotometric, cavity ring-down, and other optical measurement techniques to verify coating performance, support process control, and characterize materials.
Technician supervision : Directly supervise a team of experienced coating technicians. Provide technical direction, manage workload assignments, and support their professional development. Lead effectively through direct collaboration in a small-team environment.
What You'll Collaborate On
Production Scheduling : Work with site production and operations staff to align coating work with production and delivery schedules; managing priorities, communicating capacity constraints, and adjusting when schedules shift.
Design : Handle coating design adaptation to normal process performance variations, but work with organizational resources, when needed, to assist with novel or challenging optical coating problems. Interface with site engineering support to develop coating tooling and fixturing, engage when needed for other process engineering aspects.
Notes:
This job description is not intended to be exhaustive in every respect, but rather to clearly define the fundamental purpose, responsibilities and dimensions for the role. Therefore, this job description does not describe any individual role holder. In addition to the contents of this job description, employees are expected to undertake all other reasonable and related tasks allocated by their line manager.
The Company is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all employees and applicants for employment. The Company does not discriminate in employment opportunity or practices on the grounds of gender, race, religion or belief, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by national laws under which the Company operates.
This position will involve having access to items and technical data that may be controlled under U.S. export laws and regulations ("U.S. Export Control Laws"), including but not limited to the Export Administration Regulations ("EAR") and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations ("ITAR"). To comply with the U.S. Export Control Laws, and in conjunction with the review of candidates for those positions within G&H that may present access to export-controlled technical data, G&H must assess whether candidates are "U.S. persons" as defined under the EAR (15 C.F.R. Part 772) and the ITAR (22 C.F.R. § 120.15). Certain questions asked during the application process are intended to assess this and will be used for evaluation purposes only. Failure to provide the necessary information in this regard will result in our inability to consider you further for this position.
Salary Description
$135,000 annually