Coherent

Head of US Operations

Coherent • $150K — $180K *
Santa Rosa, CA 95403In-Person
Manufacturing & Automotive
11 - 15 years of experience
Today
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Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering or Business Management required; MBA preferred.
  • 15+ years of manufacturing leadership experience, including multi-site responsibility.
  • Experience with global operations, particularly in Asia, strongly preferred.
  • Proven leadership of large, diverse, multi-site teams.
  • Knowledge of ISO 9001:2015 and Lean methodologies.

Responsibilities

  • Lead day-to-day operations across multiple U.S. sites to ensure standardized performance.
  • Develop and execute multi-year plans for operational growth and scalability.
  • Ensure technology readiness for future product roadmaps and advanced manufacturing processes.
  • Build and develop leadership and technical talent pipelines across all sites.
  • Own enterprise KPIs, focusing on delivery, cost, quality, and productivity metrics.
  • Lead continuous improvement initiatives for operational excellence and efficiency optimization.
  • Coordinate integrated production planning, scheduling, and inventory control to support growth.

Benefits

  • Culture that emphasizes operational discipline, collaboration, and high performance.
  • Opportunity for leadership in digital transformation and change initiatives.
  • Engagement in global operations and shared learning with international teams.
Full Job Description
Job Description

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

Operational Leadership & Growth
  • Multi-site operational oversight - Leads day-to-day and long-range operations across Saxonburg, Santa Rosa, and Eugene, ensuring consistent performance, shared standards, and coordinated execution.
  • Operational growth & scalability - Develops and executes multi-year plans to expand both production capacity and technical capability across all U.S. sites. Ensures scalable manufacturing to support revenue growth, new product introductions, and evolving customer demand while maintaining quality, cost discipline, and technical readiness for advanced manufacturing processes.
  • Technology readiness - Ensures U.S. operations maintain the equipment, processes, and technical capability required for future product roadmaps and advanced materials technologies.
  • Workforce development - Builds leadership and technical talent pipelines across all U.S. sites. Ensures teams are trained, developed, and prepared for expanded capabilities and increased production volumes.


Performance Management & Continuous Improvement
  • Enterprise KPI ownership - Owns delivery, cost, quality, yield, and productivity metrics across all U.S. operations, ensuring performance supports business growth targets.
  • Operational excellence - Leads Lean, automation, and digital transformation initiatives to improve throughput, reduce variation, and strengthen competitiveness.
  • Cycle-time and yield optimization - Directs analysis of cycle times, bottlenecks, and first-pass yields to maximize efficiency and support scalable growth.


Production, Planning & Supply Chain Alignment
  • Integeated production planning - Oversees planning, scheduling, inventory control, and capacity balancing across all U.S. sites to support growth and ensure predictable delivery.
  • Site allocation strategy - Determines optimal product placement across U.S. and global sites to meet delivery, cost, and technology objectives.


Global Coordination
  • Asia operations partnership - Maintains alignment with Asia operations leadership to support global product transfers, shared learning, and coordinated scaling.
  • Logistics & compliance - Ensures shipments meet export guidelines, customer requirements, and global logistics standards.


Leadership & Organizational Development
  • Culture & accountability - Drives a culture of operational discipline, collaboration, and high performance aligned with Coherent's ICARE values.
  • Change leadership - Leads organizational change initiatives, including digital transformation and cross-site standardization to support scalable growth.


Education & Experience
  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering or Business Management required; MBA preferred.
  • 15+ years of manufacturing leadership experience, including multi-site responsibility.
  • Experience with global operations, including Asia, strongly preferred.

Skills
  • Proven leadership of large, diverse, multi-site teams
  • Strong understanding of precision machining and optical fabrication
  • Excellent communication and executive-level presentation skills
  • Demonstrated success driving continuous improvement and operational transformation
  • Knowledge of ISO 9001:2015 and Lean methodologies
  • ERP/MES proficiency; SAP and Power BI preferred
  • Must meet ITAR requirements (U.S. Citizen, Permanent Resident, or Protected Individual)

Working Conditions
  • Fast-paced, multi-site manufacturing environment
  • Office and shop-floor presence required
  • ~20% travel across U.S. sites; occasional international travel

Safety Requirements

All employees are required to follow the site EHS procedures and Coherent Corp. Corporate EHS standards.

Quality and Environmental Responsibilities

Depending on location, this position may be responsible for the execution and maintenance of the ISO 9000, 9001, 14001 and/or other applicable standards that may apply to the relevant roles and responsibilities within the Quality Management System and Environmental Management System.

About Coherent

Coherent, Inc. is a global leader in providing laser-based solutions to a broad range of commercial and scientific research customers. The company designs, manufactures, and markets lasers, laser-based systems, precision optics, and related accessories for a diverse group of customers. Coherent's markets include scientific research, OEM components and instrumentation, microelectronics, materials processing, and life sciences. The company's products are used in a wide range of applications. Coherent was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.
Learn more about Coherent
Size
5,085 employees
Market Cap
$4.6 billion
Industry
Manufacturing & Automotive
Net Income
-$419.7 million
Founded
1966
5 Year Trend
+27.8%
Revenue
$1.2 billion
NASDAQ
COHR
* Ladders Estimates

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