Senior Equipment Engineer
Coherent · Fremont, CA
- Level
- Senior
- Team
- Manufacturing
- Experience asked
- 10+ years
- Industry
- Industrial
- Posted
- 30+ days ago
The role in 30 seconds
A senior manufacturing role at Coherent (industrial) in Fremont, CA. A ccountability – Own the Process and the Outcome.
- They ask for
- 10+ years
- Tools it names
- TPM, EHS / safety
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of November 2, 2026
Manufacturing Engineer roles in California: typical posted base $111k–$173k.
Median of the low and high ends of 165 live postings that list pay, out of 443 manufacturing engineer openings in California, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.
California plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →
How this role compares
Against 442 other live manufacturing postings in California.
- Base pay
- Not listed in this posting
- Experience asked
- More than usual (10+ vs 5+)
Typical $109k–$159k, from 144 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 5+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- Tooling 50%
- New product launch 45%
- Root cause 37%
- Automation 34%
- Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ) 26%
- Machining 26%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
Stands out: this posting asks for TPM, EHS / safety, which few similar roles mention. If you have it, lead with it.
At a glance
Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.
How to get in at this plant
Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.
- 1
Pick 2–3 people on the Manufacturing team at Coherent
We found 3 people at this company and state: 3 leaders. Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. See them ↓
- 2
Send a short, curious note
One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.
Write to Jack → (free) - 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- Is the work mostly new product launches or sustaining existing lines?
- How much time do you spend on the floor versus at a desk?
- How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
- 4
Apply with someone vouching for you
If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.
- 5
Bring proof to the interview
One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.
This plant: Coherent in Fremont
6 other open roles at this site · 3 people we found in manufacturing roles at Coherent.
- Senior Photolithography Equipment Technician · Manufacturing · Technician
- Principal Foundry Quality Engineer · Quality · Senior
- Principal Reliability & Customer Quality Engineer · Quality · Senior
- Test Engineering Technician · Manufacturing
- Director of Indium Phosphide (InP) Wafer Fab Operations · Production · Director+
- Senior Epi Equipment Technician · Manufacturing · Technician
Full description from CoherentAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
Responsibilities
- ◆Equipment install + qualification (new fab tools)
- ◆Sustainment: troubleshooting, repairs, documentation
- ◆Partner with process engineers to fix production issues
- ◆Manage vendors + tool performance metrics
- ◆Able to write purchase req’s for vendors and parts
- ◆Implement Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) strategies
Education & Experience
- ✓AA or BS and 10+ years in wafer fab equipment engineering.
- ✓Experience in photolithography
- ✓Professional certifications is a plus
At a minimum, you must include the following
- ✓Standing sometimes (8 hours per day)
- ✓Lifting (40lbs.)
- ✓Pushing/Pulling (50lbs.)
- ✓Sitting sometimes (8 hours per day)
Safety
Requirements
All employees are required to follow the site EHS procedures and Coherent Corp. Corporate EHS standards.
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.:
I ntegrity – Create an Environment of Trust
C ollaboration – Innovate Through the Sharing of Ideas
A ccountability – Own the Process and the Outcome
R espect – Recognize the Value in Everyone
E nthusiasm – Find a Sense of Purpose in Work
Coherent is a global leader in lasers, engineered materials and networking components. We are a vertically integrated manufacturing company that develops innovative products for diversified applications in the industrial, optical communications, military, life sciences, semiconductor equipment, and consumer markets. Coherent provides a comprehensive career development platform within an environment that challenges employees to perform at their best, while rewarding excellence and hard-work through a competitive compensation program. It's an exciting opportunity to work for a company that offers stability, longevity and growth. Come Join Us!
Note to recruiters and employment agencies: We will not pay for unsolicited resumes from recruiters and employment agencies unless we have a signed agreement and have required assistance, in writing, for a specific opening.
Show full description ↓Show less ↑
About Indium Phosphide (InP) Technology
The world’s communications infrastructure depends on semiconductor lasers, and particularly those based on indium phosphide technology. Indium phosphide lasers are engineered to emit at wavelengths that are optimal for long-distance transmission through fiber optics. In short, they enable the optical networks that form the global internet.
Coherent’s broad portfolio of InP components includes application-specific Fabry-Pérot lasers, directly modulated lasers (DMLs), and tunable lasers. It also includes photodiodes for high-speed receivers and power monitoring. In 2022, we introduced 200 Gbps indium phosphide electro-absorption modulated lasers (EMLs) for high-speed datacenter transceivers. This design provides our customers with the most advanced, robust, and cost-competitive laser devices for their 800G and next-gen 1.6T datacom transceiver designs.
Our world-class and highly reliable InP technology platform is one of the very few in the industry that has been proven, with more than one hundred million lasers in the field deployed over the last decades.
- •Install, qualify, maintain, and optimize Etch, PECVD, Sputter equipment in a semiconductor fab
- •Drive yield, uptime, and process stability
- •Work in a cleanroom manufacturing environment.
Skills
- •Semiconductor fab experience with ICP, RIE etcher, PECVD tools Ebeam’s and sputters.
- •Strong troubleshooting + data analysis
- •Cross-functional collaboration (process + manufacturing teams)
- •Programming / data science increasingly valued
- •Good communication & interpersonal skills
Working Conditions
Fab work - Require to in a bunny suit, facemask, gloves and booties. Will be required to wear proper PPE when working on some applications.
Physical