Director, Manufacturing Engineering

LightForce Orthodontics; Wilmington (MA); On-site; USD 190,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited PTO

Paid holidays + volunteer days

Premium health coverage (medical, dent

Vision insurance

401(k) retirement plan

Parental leave

Snacks & coffee in office

Job summary

LightForce Orthodontics is seeking a Director of Manufacturing Engineering to lead the engineering of our digital, patient-specific manufacturing platform. You will own the technology roadmap, drive automation initiatives, and oversee NPI and design transfer to scale operations with a focus on cost, quality and throughput.

You will build and mentor a Manufacturing Engineering organization, partner with Production and Quality, and set robust processes and controls to ensure safe, compliant,

Qualifications

• BS in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Electrical, Industrial Engineering (MS/MBA preferred).
• 10+ years of progressive engineering experience in a complex manufacturing environment.
• 5+ years in direct leadership/people-management role.
• Proven ability to direct departmental strategies, manage resources, and lead complex engineering, CAPEX, and NPI initiatives in cross-functional collaboration with Hardware, Quality, and Operations.
• Lean, Six Sigma, cycle-time optimization, yield improvement, and establishing standardized workflows and process controls.

Responsibilities

• Own the Manufacturing Technology & Process Roadmap and execute to support future volume, quality, reliability and productivity goals.
• Drive continuous improvement and process engineering to enhance process capability, yield, throughput and cost.
• Own Manufacturing Automation & Equipment, driving robotics, vision, fixturing and supplier partnerships while balancing near-term needs and future capability.
• Lead New Product Introduction (NPI) manufacturing aspects and design transfer for scalable, manufacturable products.
• Build and develop a Manufacturing Engineering organization spanning process engineering, NPI/industrialization and equipment engineering.

Skills

Leadership

Lean Six Sigma

Process improvement

Root-cause analysis

CAPEX programs

NPI experience

Education

BS in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Electrical, Industrial Engineering

MS or MBA preferred

Job description

LightForce is leading the digital transformation of orthodontics. Our fully digital, 3D-printed platform replaces traditional stock brackets with fully customized, patient-specific brackets paired with AI-driven treatment planning — giving orthodontists more predictable outcomes and patients a better experience. We're pushing the boundaries of what's possible in personalized care, and we're just getting started. Learn more at www.lf.co.

The Opportunity

The Director, Manufacturing Engineering will lead the engineering of LightForce's manufacturing system—owning manufacturing and process engineering, equipment, process development and validation, and NPI/industrialization, with automation as a key lever for scaling throughput and reducing labor dependence. This leader will build the technical capabilities required to improve process capability, yield, throughput, reliability and cost as LightForce scales its patient-specific manufacturing platform.

What You'll Do

Own the Manufacturing Technology & Process Roadmap

• Develop and execute the manufacturing technology and process roadmap required to support future volume, quality, reliability, productivity and gross-margin objectives.
• Identify and remove technical constraints to capacity, emphasizing process capability, equipment, automation and engineering solutions rather than continued dependence on labor.

Drive Continuous Improvement & Process Engineering

• Apply Lean, DOE, statistical methods and structured problem solving to improve process capability, yield, cycle time, throughput, equipment effectiveness and cost.
• Establish robust manufacturing processes, process specifications, control plans and technical work standards in partnership with Production and Quality.

Own Manufacturing Automation & Equipment

• Drive the automation, tooling and equipment — including robotics, vision and fixturing — that reduce labor dependence and improve throughput, quality and scalability, partnering with Automation/Equipment Engineering, Program Management and outside integrators on complex builds.
• Make thoughtful make/buy/partner calls on automation and equipment investment, balancing near-term production needs against longer-term technical capability.

Lead New Product Introduction (NPI)

• Own the manufacturing side of NPI and design transfer, partnering with Engineering and Quality to ensure new products and process changes are manufacturable, validated and ready for reliable commercial scale.
• Collaborate with senior leaders to develop manufacturing plans, schedules and objectives, ensuring alignment with product designs, equipment capabilities, quality standards and cost targets.

Build the Organization

• Build and develop a strong Manufacturing Engineering organization spanning process engineering, NPI/industrialization and equipment engineering.
• Manage departmental staffing, project assignments and external consulting/vendor resources to meet aggressive project deadlines.

Ensure Safety, Quality & Compliance

• Partner with the Facilities team to ensure manufacturing processes, equipment and products strictly comply with safety requirements (OSHA), environmental standards and ISO/industry quality standards.
• Partner with Quality to ensure manufacturing processes and equipment meet applicable regulatory and quality requirements, including risk management, process validation, pFMEA and process controls.

What You Bring

• Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Electrical, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical discipline (Master's degree or MBA preferred).
• 10+ years of progressive engineering experience in a complex manufacturing environment, including 5+ years in a direct leadership/people-management role.
• Proven ability to direct departmental strategies, manage resources, and lead complex engineering, CAPEX, and NPI initiatives in cross-functional collaboration with Hardware, Quality, and Operations.
• Comprehensive background in engineering, tooling, modeling, and design reviews.
• Deep expertise in Lean, Six Sigma, cycle-time optimization, yield improvement, and establishing standardized workflows and process controls.
• Technical mastery in root-cause failure analysis, defect reduction, pFMEA, and ensuring full compliance with OSHA, ISO, and relevant industry regulatory standards.

Who Thrives Here

A hands‑on technical leader who can move between the manufacturing floor and longer‑term engineering strategy; builds teams and systems rather than becoming the permanent problem solver; and thrives in an environment requiring urgency, rigorous experimentation, structured root‑cause problem solving and rapid scale.

• Unlimited PTO for exempt employees (accrued PTO for non‑exempt employees, up to 15 days)
• 12 paid holidays per year, plus 3 paid volunteer days
• Generous premium coverage for medical, dental, and vision
• 401(k) retirement plan and paid parental leave
• Fringe lifestyle benefit, plus everyday perks like snacks and coffee in office

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in LightForce Orthodontics’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval,