Applications Engineer - Polarization

About the role

Luna Innovations Incorporated is a global leader in fiber optic test and measurement and distributed sensing, trusted by aerospace manufacturers, defense contractors, research institutions, and commercial operators worldwide. We are a team of innovators who engineer, manufacture, and relentlessly pursue quality, driven by a shared commitment to exceeding our customers' expectations.

Luna Innovations' Optical Communications Business Unit (OCT BU) develops and markets a portfolio of precision photonic instruments, polarization components, and OEM fiber optic solutions used in next-generation optical communications, sensing, and test & measurement applications. The Chino, CA facility is home to the polarization product lines, including polarization controllers, analyzers, and specialty fiber components.

This is a software-first Applications Engineer role, bringing deep automation and test software expertise to our polarization instrument product lines — building customer-ready measurement workflows, automated test sequences, and application software that accelerates adoption in our target markets. The ideal candidate is a strong programmer and systems thinker who is comfortable in a photonics environment; deep polarization domain knowledge is not required on day one and will be developed in partnership with the existing team. This position sits within the Support & Application Engineering organization (OCT BU), complementing our senior polarization AE's deep optical expertise with software and automation capability.

Target application areas include: Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) and Silicon Photonics test; Optical WDM Component Test (AWGs, WSS); Optical Coherent Transceiver and Module Test (400G/800G/1.6T); Optical Component Test (fibers, coils, lasers, switches); and Quantum Technologies.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary technical resource for customer application inquiries related to Chino polarization product lines
• Support sales team with pre-sales technical engagement, product demonstrations, and evaluation support
• Attend and represent Luna at industry tradeshows and customer events (e.g., OFC, Photonics West)
• Manage and document customer interactions and application engineering requests through Salesforce CRM
• Develop and demonstrate application setups that showcase Luna product capabilities in target markets
• Build and deliver customer-ready measurement automation scripts and test sequences (Python, LabVIEW) — enabling repeatable workflows and reducing customer time-to-result in production and test environments
• Identify emerging use cases and work with engineering to ensure new products address evolving customer needs
• Support OEM customers through product transitions, integration challenges, and qualification activities
• Create and maintain application notes, technical presentations, and product training materials
• Develop demo scripts and evaluation guides to enable self-service and accelerate customer onboarding
• Contribute to internal knowledge base and best practices documentation
• Collaborate with engineering to communicate field feedback, application requirements, and product issues
• Participate in OEM account tracking and escalation processes alongside Application Engineering team
• Contribute to instrument demo pool management and demo readiness
• Provide application engineering support for RIO Lasers' narrow linewidth laser diode and module product lines (secondary, ~10–20%)
• Support customer inquiries related to OEM laser integration, linewidth, phase noise, and system-level application questions

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Physics, Optical Engineering, or a related field
• Strong software and programming skills (Python, LabVIEW, MATLAB, or similar) — demonstrated ability to build automated test sequences, instrument control applications, and measurement workflows from scratch
• 2–7 years of experience in a test automation, applications engineering, or systems engineering role — experience in a photonics or instrumentation environment is a plus but not required
• Strong customer communication skills — able to present technical content clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences
• Familiarity with photonic components, fiber optic systems, or optical instrumentation — willingness and ability to develop deep application knowledge in polarization measurement
• Experience working with CRM tools (Salesforce preferred) for case tracking and activity documentation

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with polarization optics, polarization measurement, or polarization control systems
• Familiarity with coherent optical communications, optical testing, or fiber sensing applications
• Experience with narrow linewidth laser sources and OEM photonic component integration
• Prior experience creating technical content — application notes, training materials, or product documentation
• Familiarity with OEM customer environments and qualification/transition processes

What Success Looks Like

In the first 6–12 months, a successful candidate will:

• Become the go-to technical resource for the Chino polarization product lines for both customers and the sales team
• Have a working demo environment established, at least one application note completed, and at least one reusable measurement automation script or workflow delivered to a customer
• Be actively managing and documenting application engineering requests in Salesforce
• Have established working familiarity with the RIO laser product line and begun supporting customer inquiries