production worker

manufacturing specialist

process engineer

facilities technician

warehouse associate

nLIGHT

For the most part, I really enjoyed my time at nLight and might not have ever left voluntarily.  I enjoyed most of my coworkers and the job, while having some rough patches, was all right...better than working in a call center or doing retail anyway.

Where I have to take a couple stars off is the way my last year or so with the company was handled.  I was told that I would be taken involuntarily out of the department I started in and moved to a brand new product line.    Spent a month or so, setting up the new space with a few others only to be told that, actually, the new product line still needs work from the engineering department so it's not going to be ready anytime soon.   So, I was sent to do inventory, help organize areas, etc. for about a few weeks including days where I had absolutely nothing to do.  Frustrating, but it paid the bills.

Finally, I was basically told that I would be transferred to a department that I NEVER would have signed up voluntarily as I knew I wouldn't be good at it.  I probably would have said no right then, but, at least I got the impression, it was either that or no job at all.  So, I start working there and sure enough!  I start making enough errors that I get written up twice within like a month.   I apply for transfers to other departments when I see there's opening and reach out to HR, saying that this obviously isn't working out and what can I do to keep my job?  Only to be told that, because I did get written warnings, I couldn't just transfer to another department unless there was a dire need.  So, needless to say, I got let go a few weeks later.  (I also don't think the sup in that last department liked me at all and that had something do with it, but it is what it is.)

So, yeah, it's an all right job if you get put in the right area. 

They'll fire you for the smallest thing that everyone else gets away with if they don't like you. The people are great, but management is hired from within and is pretty subpar across the board. Diversity promotions in management, not skill-based, are pretty much the standard. Safety reviews of stations and equipment often lead to nothing, as management doesn't want to spend the money/risk downtime for ergonomics. They also say there is no mandatory OT, but that's a blatant lie. They make Saturdays mandatory if even one group is falling behind. If they think you're slacking off at all, they'll target you for safety violations and will start breathing down your neck. The engineers look down on ops as inferior and stupid, they will baby you even if you've been working with the station longer than they have. Tooling recommendations are ignored if you're ops and if you know and voice what will work for you and your station, they'll still ignore it. On the bright side, you can get lunch delivered on weekdays. The cost of the food is taken out of your check, but they pay for delivery fees, etc. That's about the only benefit, to be honest. The people are generally amicable. If you can't be at work at 06:00 every weekday and most Saturdays, don't even think about it.

Cons:
- Poor management, couldn’t keep anyone on task or focused on project completion due to too many high priority tasks. 

- Constant “slaps on the wrist” and no guidance or training. Lots of gate keeping of tribal knowledge and often looked down upon when you don’t understand something right away.

- Company nearly doubled its workforce in the span of a year and mentions that they don’t have high turnover and then goes and lays off 25% of their workforce a year later. Hired too many people too quickly with no knowledge on how to manage will certainly hurt the company later down the line.

- Zero culture at this company, no work events or allowance for creativity (I.e. we would have to take down decorations in our cubicles when customers would visit?) 

- No work life balance. Constant fear of only working 40 hr weeks when others would wear work on their sleeves and pride themselves in overwork 60+ hr weeks. 

- People will talk behind your back a lot. Nobody will be transparent or upfront about anything you might be doing wrong or and corrective action to fix it.

- No proper project management systems, only “work fire drills” leaving people constantly stressed. 

Typical day for me is: Gown up in bunny suit, check emails, assist in lab start up, and fix machines and tools for rest of day. I take pride in the work I do here and can definitely say the same for my coworkers even if management doesn't see it that way. Over the last few years there has been less and less incentive to go above and beyond as our hard work is rewarded with critisism and excuses as to why we are being denied full bonuses. 2023 was a very busy year and my team worked very hard to fulfill important contracts for what seems like nothing. We have had waves of layoffs (all of which were completely scuffed and mishandled) which has further reinforced the idea that we do not matter and that our work did not matter in the long run. There is a concensus that management seems to think all operators and production employees are too stupid to see a pattern of downsizing. My job itself is not too bad and the people here are some of the best people I have ever worked with, but the environment that is being created is so demoralizing and repressive.

It used to be a good company to work for, back around 2018-19. Post covid, it was like the mask slipped and they revealed they never cared about the manufacturing employees at all. Random changes to job descriptions, the ping pong table was gone, the good managers started fleeing due to low pay, and one random Wednesday they laid off a bunch of manufacturing employees and started overworking the rest of us. They would even tell the engineering team how successful the company was, then tell the manufacturing employees the company was struggling so we wouldn't be seeing our usual annual $1/hr raise. Overall the engineers looked down on the manufacturing employees and nothing was ever done about the disrespect paid to the "lower level" people working there. They went through about 3 HR people in a few months.

Working in the fab was akin to working in a sweatshop. While they did have AC, they never cared to make sure that it worked in all areas of the building. Even if you are in one of the 'good' areas, it's still hot. Management makes it very clear that they do not care about you as long as you meet quota. School yard insults are common. I was even told that i smelt bad! Those comments didn't stop until i mentioned it being harassment, then all of the complaints magically went away. They immediately wrote me up, without a verbal warning, because they were 'in a hurry'. They made me work in the same spot for so long that i developed tennis elbow. They prohibited talking from the workplace, even if the subject was about work, because it was 'too distracting'. Friendships are not allowed. They treat us like absolute children, micromanaging us and forcing us to take break at the same time. One person who applied quit in only one day. What a lucky fellow. Bottom line: do not work here if you value being treated like a human being.

nLight is a private company that leads the world market in optical laser systems, fiber, equipment and parts for multiple industries.

On a normal day I walk my product lines to ensure equipment is operational. If problems occur, I assess the situation, diagnose, repair, determine root cause and provide continuous improvements solutions to prevent line down situations. 

Perform Internal/external calibrations preventative maintenance on laser optical measurement equipment. Work on projects that involve multiple team members from different departments to achieve goals that exceed customer satisfaction. 

Develop/update and upgrade new test stations. Document ongoing work and report metrics to management teams.

The people at nLight are my family and are great to work with everyday. We are all educated professionals with specialized talents and unique abilities in the laser optical fields. We rely on each other and really have good times reaching our milestones.

My experience working at nLIGHT was extremely disappointing. While their semiconductor lasers are industry-leading, the same cannot be said for their management practices. The management team often seemed ill-equipped for their roles and did not have the necessary skills or experience to support their employees. They also did not seem to care about the success of their employees. There were no training sessions provided for new hires, which made it difficult to get started in my role. Furthermore, it was clear that the management did not work with their employees to help them be successful in their jobs. It felt like they were more concerned with meeting production targets than creating a supportive work environment. To make matters worse, they often hired managers who were not a good fit for their positions, which led to confusion and inefficiencies. Overall, I would not recommend working at nLIGHT.

I think the title sums it up pretty well. There is no desire to hire replacements for the people who leave, so instead they will squeeze as much work out of you as they can and then act like everything is fine and totally manageable. Leaving you feeling over-worked, under-paid and wildy unappreciated. Managers are out of touch with employees and often don't know the scope of the work being done or the training you've recieved (or lack of). Tools are constantly malfunctioning and breaking down, which leaves you unable to do your job efficiently and sometimes not at all when they aren't fixed in a reasonable time frame. Training and process documentation is some of the worst I've ever seen in my nearly two decades of being in the workforce. Pay is very low, especially for positions that are highly specialized. 

A typical work day at nLIGHT Photonics consists of multiple processes required to produce high powered semiconductor lasers. I have learned what is necessary and how much team effort it takes to create such an amazing final product. The management at nLIGHT is fantastic. The managers always care for the needs of the entire teem and always make sure those needs are met. My coworkers are very outgoing, productive, and will not hesitate to help somebody or learn something new. The hardest part about this job is working 12 hour shifts in the same environment every day, but we have four 15 minute breaks and a half an hour lunch as well as three and four day weekends.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Production worker 1 salary reported	$19.00 per hour
Manufacturing specialist 2 salaries reported	$20.00 per hour
Process engineer 1 salary reported	$26.50 per hour
Facilities technician 1 salary reported	$26.00 per hour
Warehouse associate 2 salaries reported	$19.00 per hour

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