Sr. Optical Engineer

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, validate, and optimize high-power fiber laser systems and optical architectures.
• Lead integration of laser sources, beam delivery components, process heads, sensors, and automation systems into manufacturing environments.
• Develop test plans, qualification procedures, and process validation protocols.
• Ensure compliance with laser safety standards, quality requirements, and industry regulations.
• Analyze and improve laser beam propagation, beam quality, focusability, and energy delivery.
• Develop and evaluate optical systems, beam delivery components, collimators, focusing optics, scanners, and process heads.
• Support laser process development for industrial manufacturing applications.
• Perform optical simulations, modeling, testing, and characterization.
• Troubleshoot laser system performance issues and implement corrective actions.
• Collaborate with suppliers, customers, and internal engineering teams on laser system integration projects.
• Stay current with emerging technologies in fiber lasers, optics, photonics, and advanced manufacturing.
• Provide technical leadership and drive optical technology roadmaps for future laser platforms.

Required Qualifications

• M.S. or Ph.D. in Optical Engineering, Physics, Photonics, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience working with high-power fiber laser systems ranging from 1 kW to 10+ kW.
• Strong understanding of:
• Fiber laser architectures
• Optical components and beam delivery systems, including combiners, couplers, and fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs)
• Optical design and characterization
• Diagnosing and mitigating high-power degradation mechanisms such as Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS), thermal lensing, mode stability, and optical fiber damage
• Experience with optical test and measurement equipment.
• Familiarity with laser safety requirements and standards.
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and experimental skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience with fiber laser welding processes.
• Experience with laser process monitoring and closed-loop control.
• Experience with simulation tools such as Zemax, Matlab, Python, or equivalent.
• Understanding of beam shaping technologies and advanced laser processing techniques.
• Experience supporting production environments and manufacturing scale-up.