Director, Optical Engineer

Key Responsibilities

• Manage a team of Optical Engineers across multiple programs
• Lead and/or develop and execute significantly complex system projects
• Oversee and approve designs in team design reviews
• Take active part in the design of complex modules/sub-modules
• Approve qualification results of complex modules
• Define experiments and determine the type of meaningful data required to support evaluation and technical decisions
• Identify and troubleshoot a wide range of significantly complex problems
• Support high level/complex physics related application and system issues in the lab and in the field when required
• Function as specialist for physics/science issues, while influencing and utilizing expertise in interfacing with external and internal customers
• Lead and/or develop and execute system projects, troubleshooting system problems, and defining system specifications and schedules
• Regularly interact with senior managers on matters involving several functional areas, departments or customers concerning projects, operations and schedules
• Interact with senior managers in sensitive situations, requiring the ability to change thinking or gain the acceptance of others
• Review and approve system and sub-system requirements and specifications designed by other team members
• Apply advanced principles, theories, and concepts
• Contribute to the development of new principles and concepts
• Take an active part in product risk management discussions leveraging expertise and knowledge to influence and drive risk management decisions
• Work with marketing to define tool specifications and performance
• Initiate innovative physics/science projects, which extend boundaries of system performance or technology
• Lead the selection and management of strategic vendors
• Maintain relationships with outside customers of innovation, universities, consortia
• Lead technological customer engagements driving innovation & development
• Meet high level executives on the customer side, affecting customer decision making
• Provide mentoring for less experienced physicists/scientists
• Research new technologies and analyze competition technology
• Evaluate new technologies
• Plan and execute complex feasibility studies of new technologies and lead the decision-making process
• Prepare and deliver papers regarding new technologies, share and promote new ideas and capabilities
• Plan and execute feasibility studies of complete systems/sub-systems, leveraging new technologies and design concepts
• Lead the demonstration of new capabilities and drive the decision-making process

Skills, Knowledge, Experience & Education

• 20+ years of experience within the optical design engineering field (including 8+ yrs leading Engineering teams) for the development of high-performance optical systems used in the semiconductor industry
• Experience leading teams in all aspects of the design cycle from specification development, design, supplier support, part verification, and integration
• Provide support for system alignment procedures and tooling development
• Experience developing optical systems and have experience working in a product development environment
• Regarded as the technical expert in their particular field
• Demonstrate in-depth and/or breadth of expertise in own discipline and broad knowledge of other disciplines within the function
• Responsible for the development of major optical subsystems
• Work with system engineers to develop design specifications and trade-offs between sub-systems
• Collaborate and communicate with suppliers during design of critical optical sub-assemblies
• Evaluate and analyze optical systems
• Understand performance limits and manufacturability
• Develop alignment strategies and tooling
• Develop and maintain error budgets and define subsystem level requirements to be characterized and validated during the system alpha testing phase for current and future products
• Use customer and system requirements to derive design specifications for subsystems, modules, and components and provide input to design engineers throughout the design process

Other Suitability Factors

• A very mature individual with the right balance of confidence and humility
• Exceptional ability to absorb and handle stress
• Process oriented while also strongly developing and relying on interpersonal relationships across the company
• Self-motivated and driven towards excellence
• A high level of EQ to be able to manage across a large team with significant diversity
• An inspiring leader
• Very strong ability to translate multi-dimensional market requirements into engineering specifications

Additional Information

• Time Type: Full time
• Employee Type: Assignee / Regular
• Travel: Yes, 10% of the Time
• Relocation Eligible: Yes