Senior Optics Manager

Infinitesima; Abingdon; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 83,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

EMI Share Options

Private Healthcare

3x Death in Service

Hybrid working

Job summary

Infinitesima in Abingdon, Oxfordshire is seeking a Senior Optics Manager to lead a growing optics team and steer optical system development for next‑generation semiconductor metrology.

You will influence optical strategy, drive design reviews, and mentor engineers to deliver robust, manufacturable solutions while collaborating across engineering disciplines. The role is hybrid with a strong emphasis on hands-on leadership.

Qualifications

• Experience leading, mentoring or managing engineering teams.
• Strong background in optical system design and development.
• Experience with Zemax/Code V or equivalent.
• Knowledge of optical analysis using MATLAB or Python.
• Experience integrating optics with precision mechanical systems.
• Experience with product development lifecycles and design reviews.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication.
• Experience addressing manufacturability, tolerances and long-term stability.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow an optics engineering team through mentoring and career development.
• Provide hands-on technical leadership across optical design and system integration.
• Define and drive the company's optics strategy and roadmap.
• Support development of complex optical systems for metrology applications.
• Collaborate across optics, mechanical, electronics and software teams.
• Drive continuous improvement in engineering processes and tools.
• Lead design reviews and technical decision-making for product delivery.
• Manage external suppliers and partners when required.
• Balance project delivery with long-term capability development.

Skills

Leadership experience

Optical design proficiency

Strong communication

Stakeholder management

System integration

Tools

Zemax

Code V

MATLAB

Python

Job description

Senior Optics Manager

Abingdon, Oxfordshire (Hybrid) £65,000 - £83,000 + EMI Share Options + Private Healthcare + 3x Death in Service

Are you an experienced Optics Manager, Optical Engineering Manager or Senior Optical Engineer looking to lead the development of cutting-edge optical systems used in next-generation semiconductor metrology?

We're looking for a technically strong people leader to take ownership of our optics capability, leading a growing team whilst remaining close to the engineering challenges that make our products unique. This is an opportunity to influence optical strategy, develop high-performance teams, and help deliver world-leading metrology systems for one of the fastest-growing sectors in advanced technology.

Based in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, we're a highly skilled team of 100+ people developing breakthrough technology that enables the semiconductor industry to see and measure features at an entirely new level. Backed by leading investors including Applied Ventures, we're scaling rapidly and investing heavily in our engineering capability

About the role

This is a genuine player-manager role.

You'll lead a specialist optics team whilst remaining actively involved in optical system design, analysis, integration and problem-solving. You'll shape the future of our optics capability, influence product direction and help build the team as we continue to grow.

Working closely with engineering leaders, architects and project teams, you'll ensure our optical designs are robust, manufacturable and scalable whilst maintaining the technical excellence that underpins our products.

What You'll Be Doing

• Leading and growing a team of optical engineers through mentoring, coaching, recruitment and career development
• Providing hands‑on technical leadership across optical design, analysis and system integration activities
• Defining and driving the company's optics strategy and engineering roadmap
• Supporting the development of complex optical systems for advanced metrology applications
• Collaborating across optics, mechanical, electronics, software and systems engineering teams
• Driving continuous improvement in engineering processes, tools and best practices
• Supporting design reviews, technical decision making and product delivery activities
• Managing specialist suppliers, contractors and external technical partners where required
• Balancing project delivery with long-term capability development

About You

You bring a combination of optical engineering expertise and leadership experience in a fast evolving, product-focused environment.

Essential Experience

• Experience leading, mentoring or managing engineering teams
• Strong background in optical system design and development
• Experience using optical modelling tools such as Zemax, Code V or equivalent
• Knowledge of optical analysis and modelling using tools such as MATLAB, Python or similar
• Experience integrating optics with precision mechanical systems
• Experience developing optical systems for real-world products, including manufacturability, alignment, tolerance analysis and long‑term stability considerations
• Strong understanding of engineering product development lifecycles, including design reviews, requirements management and verification activities
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills

Desirable Experience

• Semiconductor equipment, metrology systems or scientific instrumentation
• Photonics, microscopy or precision optical systems
• Interferometer design and optimisation
• Optical microscope design
• Laser Safety Officer (LSO) certification or experience
• Matrix team leadership and project leadership experience
• Experience working with external optical suppliers and specialist manufacturing partners
• JIRA or similar engineering workflow tools

A bit about us:

Infinitesima is a privately owned company founded in 2001, as a spin‑out of the University of Bristol, by CTO Professor Andrew Humphris. Our dynamic team of scientists and engineers is focussed on enabling the next generation of semiconductor devices through delivery of innovative products to customers around the world.

Our strength lies in the varied perspectives that come from different cultures, experiences, and identities. We believe that true innovation is fuelled by collaboration, locally and globally. We strive to foster an environment where everyone can contribute meaningfully and thrive. If you require adjustments to take part in the recruitment process, please let us know, we’ll do our best to support you.

Your recruitment journey:

We will interview you: Monday to Friday UK Time 9am to 4.30pm and we'll be as flexible as we can with Global Scheduling

1st stage: (45 minute) Remote meeting to evaluate your experience and technical ability

2nd stage: (2.5 hours) Face to face onsite evaluating technical, presentation and communication skills along with your ways of working and your opportunity to to know more about us

If you're not comfortable with eye contact, let us know at the start of your interview and if REMOTE, once we've said hello, feel free to turn your camera off until the end.

Informal is absolutely fine for onsite interviews, we want you to feel comfortable when you meet us and if there's anything else we can do to support your journey, just let us know.

A note on how we use AI:

We use AI only to transcribe our interviews so we can focus fully on you instead of scribbling notes. The AI does not take part in any decision making at any stage. All hiring decisions are made by real humans based on the conversation we have with you.

Location and working pattern:

We recognise the value of flexibility and offer a hybrid working model wherever possible. Most employees work onsite three days per week, although some positions require a greater onsite presence due to the nature of the work and business need