Director of Thin Film Coating Services

About the Role

A Canadian sovereign defence and advanced optics manufacturer is standing up a dedicated thin film coating services business and is hiring a Director of Thin Film Coating Services to build it and lead it. The new organization will supply advanced optical coatings into defence, aerospace, space, quantum technology and high performance commercial optics. Target applications span military EO/IR systems, SWIR, MWIR and LWIR optics, laser systems, precision imaging, hyperspectral imaging, night vision, space optics, directed energy, semiconductor inspection and quantum technologies. This is a confidential search. The client is named once a candidate reaches interview stage.

What You Will Do

You will build the coating services organization from the ground up and then run it. The role combines executive leadership, business development, advanced thin film engineering, manufacturing leadership and direct customer engagement. You will set the technical roadmap, recruit and mentor the technical team, own production operations, expand coating capability and build the customer base across the defence and commercial optics industries. Unlike a traditional coating manager, this role carries full responsibility for technology development, business growth, profitability and organizational leadership. You report to the President.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop the long term strategic roadmap, annual business plans, budgets and growth strategies for the thin film services business
• Establish the business as a recognized supplier of advanced optical coatings worldwide and build strategic partnerships with major OEMs
• Identify emerging defence and commercial market opportunities and generate profitable coating services revenue
• Lead customer technical discussions, develop quotations and pricing strategies and support proposal preparation
• Represent the business at SPIE, CLEO, Laser World of Photonics, Photonics West, defence conferences and military trade shows
• Maintain expert knowledge across magnetron sputtering, PARMS, ion beam sputtering, ion assisted deposition, electron beam evaporation, PECVD, DLC, reactive sputtering, optical interference coatings, thin film stress control, coating durability, optical contamination and vacuum technology
• Lead development of AR coatings, high reflectors, beam splitters, dichroics, edge filters, bandpass filters, notch filters, neutral density filters and polarizers
• Lead development of SWIR, MWIR and LWIR coatings on germanium, silicon, zinc sulfide, zinc selenide, sapphire and chalcogenide glass
• Run weekly production meetings, coating production schedules, capacity planning and workforce allocation, and own staffing, mentoring and succession planning
• Monitor KPIs and lead continuous improvement across productivity, quality and process efficiency
• Oversee the full coating process from customer intake through cleaning, fixturing and loading, and drive throughput, first pass yield, scrap reduction and equipment uptime
• Own the capital equipment roadmap, preventive maintenance programs, tooling optimization and new coating process development
• Lead the metrology function across spectrophotometry, ellipsometry, profilometry, reflectometry, microscopy, film stress analysis, optical scatter measurement, surface roughness analysis, environmental testing and MIL qualification testing
• Maintain accurate coating documentation, production records and technical databases

Must Haves

• PhD or MSc in Physics, Optical Engineering, Materials Science, Engineering Physics, Applied Physics or Chemical Engineering
• 5+ years of thin film coating experience
• 5+ years of management experience
• Hands on experience with optical coatings, metal coatings, transparent conductive oxides, reactive sputtering, ion beam sputtering, magnetron sputtering, PECVD, ion milling and vacuum systems
• Optical metrology and film characterization
• Statistical process control and lean manufacturing
• Eligible for registration under the Canadian Controlled Goods Program
• Able to work on site in the Greater Toronto Area

Nice to Haves

• ISO 9001 and AS9100 environments
• Infrared coating development for defence EO/IR programs
• Experience standing up a new production line, coating shop or business unit
• Optical coating experience gained in a defence or photonics manufacturer

What\'s on Offer

A competitive base salary with a quarterly performance bonus that is not capped, tied to the division results. This is a build role, not a caretaker role. You own the technology, the team, the P and L and the customer base, reporting directly to the President of a growing Canadian manufacturer, with support for conferences and professional development.

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