Thin Film Coating Engineer

Precision People; Leicester; On-site; GBP 54,000 - 66,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

33 days' holiday

Pension

Job summary

Precision People in Leicester seeks an experienced Thin Film Coating Engineer to drive development and production of advanced coating processes. You will work across vacuum deposition, metrology and QA to ensure coating performance meets optical, electrical and mechanical specs. The role combines hands-on process development with scale-up to high-volume manufacturing, offering exposure to PVD, sputtering and CVD technologies.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Materials Science, Physics, Chemical Engineering or related STEM field.
• 5+ years hands-on experience with industrial vacuum deposition systems.
• Experience in high-volume manufacturing environments.
• Knowledge of quality systems and process control.
• Experience with PVD, sputtering, e-beam evaporation or CVD.
• Proven ability to develop and optimise coating processes.
• Familiarity with SPC, DOE and process capability.
• Experience with thin-film metrology and characterisation.

Responsibilities

• Develop and optimise thin-film coating processes for production.
• Design coating stacks and simulate performance using software ( Essential Macleod, TFCalc, OptiLayer ).
• Develop deposition recipes using PVD, sputtering, e-beam evaporation and/or CVD.
• Plan and run DOE to optimise parameters and establish robust process windows.
• Implement and maintain SPC for thickness, refractive index and adhesion.
• Investigate coating defects and drive improvements in yield and cost.
• Support CAPA, MRB and structured problem-solving (8D, 5-Why, Fishbone).
• Ensure ISO 9001 quality standards compliance.
• Use metrology equipment to assess coating performance.
• Maintain calibration and preventive maintenance of equipment.
• Develop reliability testing including thermal cycling and humidity tests.
• Scale processes from pilot to high-volume production.
• Produce SOPs and train technicians.
• Lead Lean/Kaizen continuous improvement initiatives.
• Collaborate with customers, suppliers and internal teams to resolve issues.

Skills

Vacuum deposition expertise

DOE planning

Statistical process control

Analytical thinking

Problem solving

Communication skills

Independent working

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Materials Science / Physics / Chemical Engineering

Master’s degree (advantage)

PhD (advantage)

Tools

PVD

Sputtering

E-beam evaporation

CVD

Job description

Thin Film Coating Engineer

Advanced Manufacturing
Leicester LE8
Up to £60k per annum + 10% Bonus
33 days' holiday and Pension

The Role

We are looking for an experienced Thin Film Coating Engineer to join an advanced manufacturing environment, taking responsibility for the development, optimisation and production of sophisticated thin-film coating processes.

This is a hands-on engineering role where you will work across process development, vacuum deposition, quality, metrology and continuous improvement, helping to take new coating designs from development through to stable, high-volume production.

You will work closely with R&D, manufacturing, quality and engineering teams to ensure coating processes consistently meet demanding optical, electrical and mechanical specifications.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and optimise thin-film coating processes for production.
• Design coating stacks and simulate thin-film performance using specialist software such as Essential Macleod, TFCalc or OptiLayer.
• Develop deposition recipes using technologies including PVD, sputtering, e-beam evaporation and/or CVD.
• Plan and execute Design of Experiments (DOE) to optimise process parameters and establish robust process windows.
• Develop and maintain Statistical Process Control (SPC) for critical coating parameters including thickness uniformity, refractive index and adhesion.
• Investigate coating defects and process variation, driving improvements in yield, quality and cost.
• Support CAPA, MRB and structured problem-solving activities using techniques such as 8D, 5-Why and Fishbone analysis.
• Support compliance with ISO 9001 and other relevant quality standards.
• Use specialist metrology and characterisation equipment, including spectrophotometers, to assess coating performance.
• Support calibration, Gauge R&R and preventative maintenance of thin-film characterisation equipment.
• Develop and oversee reliability testing, including thermal cycling, humidity, salt spray and mechanical adhesion testing.
• Manage and troubleshoot vacuum deposition equipment and systems.
• Scale coating processes from pilot production into high-volume manufacturing while maintaining process stability.
• Produce SOPs and provide technical training to technicians and other team members.
• Lead and support continuous improvement initiatives using Lean / Kaizen methodologies.
• Work closely with customers, suppliers and internal departments to resolve technical and manufacturing issues.

About You

You will be an experienced thin-film or coating engineer with a strong understanding of vacuum deposition technologies and manufacturing processes.

Ideally, you will have:

• A Bachelor's, Master's or PhD in Materials Science, Physics, Chemical Engineering or a related STEM discipline.
• 5+ years' hands-on experience operating industrial vacuum deposition systems.
• Experience working within a high-volume manufacturing environment.
• Strong knowledge of manufacturing quality systems and process control.
• Experience with PVD, sputtering, e-beam evaporation and/or CVD.
• Experience developing and optimising coating processes.
• Knowledge of SPC, DOE and process capability.
• Experience with thin-film metrology and characterisation.
• Knowledge of Lean Manufacturing / continuous improvement.
• An understanding of ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and Health & Safety requirements.
• The ability to interpret engineering drawings and understand manufacturing processes.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving and communication skills.
• The confidence to work independently while collaborating effectively across engineering, manufacturing and quality teams.

Why Join?

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced Thin Film Coating Engineer to take ownership of advanced coating processes within a technically focused manufacturing environment.

You will have the opportunity to work on process development, scale-up, quality improvement and advanced coating technologies, while playing a key role in moving innovative coating designs into reliable production.

If you have strong hands-on experience with thin-film coating and vacuum deposition and are looking for your next technical challenge, we'd like to hear from you.