Senior Laser Process Engineer — From Lab to Manufacturing

Corning Incorporated; Hickory (NC); On-site; USD 120,000 - 164,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonuses

Pension plan

401(k) matching

Health benefits

Paid time off

Employee assistance

Job summary

Corning Incorporated seeks a Senior Laser Process Development Engineer/Scientist to drive early-stage laser process development and optical solutions. You will design optical systems, build prototype stations, and translate lab innovations into scalable manufacturing capabilities.

You’ll bring a graduate degree and 5+ years in laser processing or photonics, with hands-on lab experience and strong analytical skills.

Qualifications

• Graduate degree in a technical discipline (Photonics, EE, Physics, ME, or Materials Science).
• 5+ years in laser processing, optics, photonics, or related development; graduate work may count.
• Knowledge of laser theory, optical theory, and light-material interaction.
• Hands-on lab experience, building/diagnosing lab setups and interpreting data.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills; effective written and verbal communication.

Responsibilities

• Design and optimize laser-based processes for deployment across Corning facilities.
• Build and troubleshoot benchtop/prototype stations; design optical systems for laser studies.
• Plan structured experiments to establish process windows and characterize laser-material interactions.
• Collaborate with R&D and engineering to translate lab work into scalable processes.
• Document work and contribute to reports and patents.

Skills

Laser processing

Optics

Lab experiments

DOE/SPC

Data analysis

Scientific writing

Communication

Education

Master's or PhD in Photonics/related field

PhD in related field

Tools

COMSOL

Zemax

Python-based simulations

SolidWorks/Creo

Minitab/JMP

Job description

Corning Incorporated seeks a Senior Laser Process Development Engineer/Scientist to drive early-stage laser process development and optical solutions. You will design optical systems, build prototype stations, and translate lab innovations into scalable manufacturing capabilities.

You’ll bring a graduate degree and 5+ years in laser processing or photonics, with hands-on lab experience and strong analytical skills.