Associate/Senior Optical Engineer, R&D

Arcadia Science; Emeryville (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 275,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Practical benefits

Equity offering

Job summary

Arcadia Science in Emeryville, California is seeking an Optical Engineer at Associate or Senior level to join their research team. This role involves developing measurement techniques and innovating optical approaches for scientific applications. The ideal candidate will have a PhD in optical engineering or physics, and hands-on experience in instrumentation design.

The position offers a competitive salary ranging from $150–275K based on experience, plus benefits and equity options. Apply to join a forward-thinking team dedicated to leveraging biology for real-world solutions.

Qualifications

• At least 2 years experience in an industrial or start-up environment.
• Hands-on experience designing and building optical systems.
• Demonstrated aptitude for developing novel optical techniques.

Responsibilities

• Assess current optical capabilities and identify opportunities.
• Design, build, and characterize new optical systems.
• Collaborate with scientists to translate experimental requirements.

Skills

Optical engineering

Data analysis

Research experience

Instrumentation development

Education

PhD in optical engineering, physics, or related field

Tools

Raman spectroscopy

Fluorescence microscopy

Job description

A Bit About Us

We are Arcadia Science, an evolutionary biology company founded and led by scientists. Our mission is to turn natural innovations into real-world solutions by developing systematic and quantitative approaches to leveraging biology for therapeutics R&D. We share our research as openly as possible to accelerate discovery and make our work broadly useful.

The Opportunity

We are hiring an Optical Engineer at the Associate or Senior level to join Arcadia's research team. This is a role for an optical scientist with a demonstrated aptitude for developing novel measurement techniques: someone who can identify the limits of existing optical tools and invent new ones to address them.

Optical instrumentation is central to how we study living systems. Our current work spans spontaneous Raman spectroscopy, coherent Raman imaging (SRS and CARS), and live‑cell microscopy of diverse organisms. We bias toward label‑free modalities that allow us to work across a wider range of organisms and generate data that is more readily comparable across biological systems. We invent tools with affordability and usability in mind to enable greater adoption and impact.

The Optical Engineer will be on the research team, contributing directly to the scientific program by innovating on optical approaches. They will also collaborate with the product development team to help transform new technologies into professionalized tools that can be deployed more broadly. Therefore, the Optical Engineer should be excited and able to approach their inventions with scalability as a design consideration from the outset.

What You'll Do

• Assess Arcadia's current optical capabilities in the context of our active research program and identify opportunities for new or improved approaches.
• Design, build, and characterize new optical systems, working across hardware, acquisition software, and data analysis as needed.
• Collaborate closely with Arcadia’s research scientists or external partners to understand experimental requirements and translate them into instrumentation solutions.
• Contribute to computational and analytical pipelines for spectral and imaging data, including signal processing and ML‑based approaches where relevant.
• Create open source protocols and designs.

Required

• PhD in optical engineering, physics, applied physics, or a closely related field.
• At least 2 years experience in an industrial or start‑up environment.
• Hands‑on experience designing and building optical systems.
• Demonstrated aptitude for developing novel optical techniques or instrumentation.
• Proficiency writing code for instrument control, data acquisition, or quantitative analysis.
• Ability to work independently and communicate technical findings clearly to a scientific audience.

Preferred

• Experience with Raman spectroscopy (spontaneous, SRS, and/or CARS) or other label‑free imaging modalities.
• Experience doing research as a post‑doctoral fellow
• Familiarity with fluorescence microscopy and the practical challenges of preparing and imaging live biological samples.
• Experience with spectral or image analysis, including signal processing or machine learning methods.
• History of open science contributions, including published code, open instrument designs, or non‑traditional publication formats.

Associate vs. Senior

We are open to candidates at two levels, based on experience.

Associate Optical Engineer, $150–200K

• Strong research record, typically through a PhD and postdoctoral or early industry experience.
• Demonstrated technical creativity in optical instrumentation.
• Can immediately contribute to research directions.

Senior Optical Engineer, $200–275K

• Substantive track record of independent, innovative contributions to optical technique development.
• Experience independently defining and executing strategic research directions.
• Experience managing a small technical team.

Both levels include benefits and a highly competitive equity offering. The position will require the individual to be on‑site at our Emeryville, California headquarters.

Application Process

Please submit a resume and fully answer all application questions addressing your interest in and qualifications for the position. The review process will involve in‑person interviews and a short, practical work test. Employment offers are contingent on reference and background checks.

Arcadia is an equal opportunity workplace; we welcome people from all backgrounds and communities. We provide competitive compensation and practical benefits to keep you happy and healthy so that you can do your best work.