Photonics Process Development Engineer 2 Packaging and Tooling

About the role

Join our fast-paced and passionate team as a Photonics Process Development Engineer 2 focused on advanced packaging and tooling. As we scale, you will be instrumental in building our manufacturing foundation from the ground up. This is a dynamic, hands-on role for a highly self-directed engineer who thrives in an ambiguous, fast-moving environment.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end development of photonic assembly processes from concept through production release
• Define and execute the process development roadmap aligned with product and manufacturing goals
• Design statistically rigorous experiments (DOE) to optimize process windows, robustness, and yield
• Manage the process control limits, qualification criteria, and acceptance metrics
• Transition processes from R&D to pilot and full manufacturing scale
• Lead process transfer to production, including equipment qualification (IQ, OQ, PQ)
• Drive yield improvement initiatives and root-cause investigations for failures and reliability issues
• Establish engineering standards, documentation, and best practices
• Develop process flows, work instructions, travelers, and training materials
• Determine appropriate Design for Manufacturability (DFM) principles and ensures tolerance analysis follows best practices
• Ensure process capability (Cp/Cpk) is maintained
• Perform qualification, reliability testing, and failure analysis (including FMEA)
• Design precision fixtures, tooling, and mechanisms to enable repeatable assembly and alignment
• Collaborate with mechanical engineers and equipment vendors to develop manufacturable solutions and automation
• Mentor junior engineers and technicians and provide technical leadership across cross-functional teams
• Ensure adherence to cleanroom protocols and contamination control practices

Requirements

• BS or MS in Optical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or a related field
• Typically 8+ years of relevant experience in photonics or optoelectronic process development
• 5+ years with demonstrated ownership of manufacturing process equipment such as die bonders, wire bonders, vacuum reflow systems, active alignment platforms, or laser welding systems

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with laser diodes, PICs, modulators, detectors, or optical transceivers
• Familiarity with hermetic packaging (butterfly, TO, or micro-optical packages)
• Experience with active alignment systems
• Reliability testing experience (thermal cycling, HTOL, damp heat)
• Knowledge of statistical process control (SPC) and manufacturing metrics
• Experience supporting low- to medium-volume production environments
• Fixture and mechanism design experience in precision systems
• Startup Mindset: Comfortable operating in an evolving environment with changing priorities, motivated by building new capabilities and infrastructure from the ground up, willing to take ownership across multiple technical domains, hands-on and resourceful, with a strong bias toward execution

Benefits

The expected annual salary range for this position is $85,000-$125,000. As a full-time employee, you will be eligible for Monarch's comprehensive benefits package, which includes:

• Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance
• Fidelity 401(k) plan with 4% employer matching
• 20 paid time off (PTO) days per year
• 13 paid company holidays
• 9/80 work schedule (every other Friday off)