Area Manager (Optical Manufacturing)

Location: Wilton, Connecticut, United States; onsite role in a 24/7 production environment. Must be work authorized in the United States without employer sponsorship and legally authorized to access controlled technology under U.S. export regulations.

Company

hirify.global develops advanced technology systems and operates high-precision optical manufacturing facilities.

What you will do

• Lead manufacturing operations across bonding, contacting, etching, lithography, and laser processing.
• Manage multiple shifts and a layered organization of shift managers, team leads, technicians, and more than 30 employees overall.
• Translate customer demand into production plans covering equipment, workforce, capacity, scheduling, and execution.
• Own safety, quality, delivery, productivity, 5S, operational budgets, and capital budgets for the BCELL area.
• Drive Lean Manufacturing, continuous improvement, structured problem-solving, and systemic resolution of quality issues.
• Lead new product and process industrialization, capacity planning, organizational development, and collaboration with production engineering, business planning, NPI, and sister factories.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a related field required; a relevant master’s degree is preferred.
• 10–15 years of manufacturing operations experience with a bachelor’s degree, or 5–10 years with a master’s degree, preferably in high-mix technical environments.
• Experience leading leaders in complex, multi-shift production operations.
• Strong Lean and continuous improvement experience with demonstrated results.
• Knowledge of ERP and manufacturing systems, preferably SAP, and experience in ISO-certified environments.
• Must be authorized to work in the United States without employer sponsorship and meet controlled-technology access requirements.

Nice to have

• Experience in optics manufacturing, coating, or metrology.
• Engineering-related master’s degree.

Culture & Benefits

• Collaborative leadership culture focused on people development, inclusion, engagement, and team effectiveness.
• Partnership with the Berlin sister facility to exchange best practices and align operational excellence.
• Reasonable accommodations are available for applicants and employees with disabilities.
• The role may involve travel based on business needs and exposure to strong magnetic fields, high voltage, and high currents.