Head of Advanced Coatings R&D & Technologies

Apogee Enterprises, Inc.; Faribault (MN); On-site; USD 160,000 - 175,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision benefits

401(k) with employer match

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Job summary

Apogee Enterprises, Inc. in Faribault, MN is seeking a Director of R&D & Advanced Technologies to lead the Faribault R&D organization and advance high‑performance surface technologies. The role combines hands‑on development with strategic portfolio management.

You will personally deliver technical results while coaching scientists and engineers, and you will partner with Operations, Engineering, Quality, Sales and customers to translate needs into scalable manufacturing solutions.

Qualifications

• Requires hands‑on R&D leadership in coatings, thin films, and vacuum deposition.
• Proven ability to design, execute, and interpret complex experiments.
• Experience translating laboratory results to manufacturing scale‑up.
• Strong collaboration with cross‑functional teams and customers.

Responsibilities

• Lead one or two priority advanced‑technology programs from experimentation through manufacturing.
• Design and execute experiments, optimize coating architectures, analyze data, and solve complex problems.
• Apply deep expertise in PVD sputtering, PECVD/plasma processes, and surface technologies.
• Lead process scale‑up, validation, root‑cause analysis, and transfer to manufacturing.
• Manage the Faribault R&D portfolio and establish project objectives and milestones.
• Partner with Operations, Engineering, Quality, Sales, and Marketing to commercialize new products.

Skills

PVD sputtering

PECVD/plasma processes

Thin films

Coatings development

Process scale‑up

R&D leadership

AI tools in manufacturing

Education

Bachelor’s in Chemistry/Materials Science/Engineering

Advanced technical degree preferred

Tools

PVD/PECVD equipment

Job description

Apogee Enterprises, Inc. in Faribault, MN is seeking a Director of R&D & Advanced Technologies to lead the Faribault R&D organization and advance high‑performance surface technologies. The role combines hands‑on development with strategic portfolio management.

You will personally deliver technical results while coaching scientists and engineers, and you will partner with Operations, Engineering, Quality, Sales and customers to translate needs into scalable manufacturing solutions.