Opto-Mechanical Engineer: Design & Prototyping in Photonics

Salience Labs; Oxford; On-site; GBP 52,000 - 76,000; Full time

Job summary

Salience Labs Limited in the UK is seeking an Opto-mechanical Engineer to join its Manufacturing team. You will design, validate, and produce opto-mechanical assemblies and mounts, translating optical designs into robust hardware for scalable production.

Based in Oxford, you will work across CAD, optical modelling, and prototyping, collaborating with hardware, manufacturing engineering teams and vendors worldwide to ensure production-ready solutions and reliable alignment.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of hands-on experience with SolidWorks.
• 2+ years of hands-on experience with Zemax or similar optical design software.
• Solid understanding of optics fundamentals (alignment, tolerances, beam propagation).
• Experience in opto-mechanical, mechanical, or optical engineering.
• Ability to perform tolerance stack-up analysis.

Responsibilities

• Design opto-mechanical components and assemblies using SolidWorks.
• Model and analyse optical systems and tolerances using Zemax.
• Translate optical design requirements into manufacturable mechanical designs.
• Perform tolerance analysis to ensure optical alignment and performance across manufacturing variation.
• Build and test prototypes to validate opto-mechanical designs against optical performance targets.
• Support fibre-to-chip and free-space alignment integration for photonic assemblies.
• Collaborate with manufacturing team and vendors to ensure designs are production-ready.

Skills

SolidWorks

Zemax

Optics fundamentals

Tolerance analysis

Hands-on lab experience

Troubleshooting

Clear communication

Travel to vendor sites

Tools

SolidWorks

Zemax

Job description

Salience Labs Limited in the UK is seeking an Opto-mechanical Engineer to join its Manufacturing team. You will design, validate, and produce opto-mechanical assemblies and mounts, translating optical designs into robust hardware for scalable production.

Based in Oxford, you will work across CAD, optical modelling, and prototyping, collaborating with hardware, manufacturing engineering teams and vendors worldwide to ensure production-ready solutions and reliable alignment.