Technical Project Manager

Job Summary:

Responsible for coordinating the development, and subsequent production transfer of high-precision assemblies in Vietnam.

Initial development will be performed jointly by the Optical Solutions engineering team in the United States and the Engineered Ceramics R&D team, primarily located in Vietnam. The Technical Project Manager will coordinate local activities and ensure effective collaboration between the participating organizations.

The position requires a strong technical background and the ability to understand complex engineering topics. The Technical Project Manager is not expected to personally solve technical issues. Instead, the role will work with the responsible local and US engineers to define problems, establish ownership, understand technical and schedule risks, develop contingency plans, and drive issues to timely resolution.

The initial focus will be on coordinating product and process development. As the product and processes mature, the role will support industrialization, manufacturing transfer, process qualification, production readiness, and ramp-up in Vietnam.

The position reports to the Director of Engineering, Optical Solutions Vietnam, with a dotted-line relationship to the US-based Program Manager. A key objective of the role is to support the US-based Program Manager in successfully achieving the overall program objectives.

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary local project coordinator for the high-precision assembly program.

• Coordinate activities between the Optical Solutions engineering team in the United States, the Engineered Ceramics R&D team in Vietnam, and other cross-functional stakeholders.

• Support the US-based Program Manager in planning, coordinating, and executing the overall program.

• Develop and maintain detailed project plans covering scope, deliverables, schedules, milestones, resources, dependencies, costs, and risks.

• Help drive the project schedule and ensure key milestones are achieved in support of the overall program objectives.

• Track actions, deliverables, dependencies, and decisions, ensuring that owners and due dates are clearly defined.

• Organize and facilitate project meetings, technical reviews, risk reviews, and project gate reviews.

• Prepare meeting agendas, document decisions, issue meeting minutes, and follow up on assigned actions.

• Work with local and US engineers to understand technical issues, their root causes, and their potential effects on the program.

• Ensure technical issues are assigned to the appropriate engineering owners and driven to timely resolution.

• Identify and communicate technical, schedule, resource, supply-chain, quality, and manufacturing risks.

• Coordinate with the engineering teams to develop risk-mitigation measures, contingency plans, and schedule-recovery actions.

• Evaluate the potential program impact of technical issues and communicate it clearly to the US-based Program Manager and other stakeholders.

• Escalate unresolved issues, resource constraints, and decisions requiring management attention.

• Provide regular project updates to the Director of Engineering, Optical Solutions Vietnam, and the US-based Program Manager.

• Prepare clear and professional PowerPoint presentations for project reviews, management updates, customer discussions, and decision-making meetings.

• Collect, consolidate, and summarize technical, schedule, cost, quality, and risk information from the responsible functional teams.

• Develop project dashboards and reports covering schedule status, milestone achievement, risks, actions, resources, and overall program health.

• Coordinate prototype builds, engineering builds, design verification, process-development trials, and associated readiness reviews.

• Coordinate the availability of drawings, bills of materials, specifications, test plans, work instructions, inspection plans, and other required project documentation.

• Support coordination of equipment, tooling, fixtures, metrology systems, materials, suppliers, and facility requirements.

• Facilitate communication between engineering, operations, quality, supply chain, facilities, EHS, and other supporting functions.

• Support the development and execution of the industrialization and manufacturing-transfer plan as the product and processes mature.

• Coordinate process qualification, pilot production, production-readiness reviews, and the controlled ramp into manufacturing.

• Coordinate training and qualification activities for local engineers, technicians, and production personnel.

• Support the resolution of technical, quality, yield, and process issues during the initial production ramp by coordinating the appropriate engineering resources.

• Ensure project activities and deliverables comply with applicable customer, quality, cleanliness, ISO, and EHS requirements

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering, mechatronics, optics, materials engineering, or a related technical discipline.

• Minimum of six years of experience in engineering project management, product development, manufacturing, NPI, or a related technical environment.

• Experience coordinating cross-functional and international engineering projects.

• Experience supporting products from development through industrialization and production ramp.

• Experience with high-precision mechanical or optical assemblies is strongly preferred.

• Experience in semiconductor equipment, optical manufacturing, engineered ceramics, aerospace, or another high-precision industry is preferred.

Skills & Other Requirements:

• Sufficient technical knowledge to understand complex engineering topics, evaluate their program impact, and communicate effectively with engineers and management.
• Strong project planning, coordination, risk-management, and follow-up skills.
• Ability to coordinate technical work without assuming the responsibilities of the assigned subject-matter experts.
• Ability to convert complex technical information into clear program-level summaries and management presentations.
• Strong PowerPoint skills and experience preparing professional materials for project and executive reviews.
• Strong knowledge of project scheduling, milestone tracking, action management, risk registers, and contingency planning.
• Ability to work effectively across different business units, functions, sites, cultures, and time zones.
• Understanding of product development, engineering change control, NPI, manufacturing transfer, and production-readiness processes.
• Strong problem-solving, facilitation, conflict-resolution, and decision-support skills.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and work effectively in a matrix organization.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Project or comparable scheduling tools and Microsoft Office.\
• Ability to travel internationally, including travel to US facilities, as required

Working Conditions

• Work will be performed in office, manufacturing-floor, cleanroom, and testing-laboratory environments.

• Regular coordination with US-based teams may require occasional meetings outside standard Vietnam working hours.

• Occasional international travel may be required.

• Personal protective equipment may be required in designated manufacturing, laboratory, and cleanroom areasxxxx

Safety Requirements

The employee is responsible for complying with site EHS procedures, Coherent corporate EHS standards, and all applicable safety requirements.

Quality and Environmental Responsibilities

Depending on location, this position may be responsible for the execution and maintenance of the ISO 9000, 9001, 14001 and/or other applicable standards that may apply to the relevant roles and responsibilities within the Quality Management System and Environmental Management System.

Culture Commitment

Ensure adherence to company’s values (ICARE) in all aspects of your position at Coherent Corp.:

Integrity – Create an Environment of Trust

Collaboration – Innovate Through the Sharing of Ideas

Accountability – Own the Process and the Outcome

Respect – Recognize the Value in Everyone

Enthusiasm – Find a Sense of Purpose in Work

Coherent Corp. is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.