Electrical Engineer II (Research Group)

Thorlabs; Sterling (VA); On-site; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental and vision insurance

401(k) plan

Tuition reimbursement

Generous PTO

Job summary

Thorlabs is seeking an Electrical Engineer II to design and validate advanced electronic systems for scientific imaging and instruments. You will lead hardware development, craft embedded firmware in C/C++, and collaborate across global teams to bring concepts to production.

The role requires hands-on experience with analog, digital, and mixed-signal circuits, PCB layout, and hardware test methodologies in a fast-paced R&D environment.

Qualifications

• 4–8 years of professional electrical engineering experience in R&D or product development.
• Hands-on experience designing electronic hardware for scientific instruments and related fields.
• Embedded firmware development in C/C++ for hardware control and integration.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop electronic hardware for precision instruments and imaging systems.
• Develop embedded firmware to support hardware bring-up, device control, and testing.
• Own designs from requirements through schematic, PCB layout, prototyping, and production support.

Skills

Analog circuit design

Digital circuit design

Mixed-signal design

PCB layout

Embedded firmware development

C/C++

ARM Cortex

Schematic capture

Education

Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering

Tools

Altium Designer

SPICE simulation

Job description

At Thorlabs, we design and manufacture components, instruments, and systems that transform the world by identifying, enabling, and accelerating key photonics (i.e., light-based) technologies. Backed by a dedicated workforce of more than 3,000 employees worldwide, Thorlabs contributes to cutting‑edge research and real‑world innovation.

Whether you're early in your career or bringing years of experience, you’ll find opportunities to grow, take ownership, and make meaningful contributions from day one. We know every employee brings unique talents and perspectives that fuel our success, and we seek driven individuals who are excited to make an impact in a fun, fast‑moving culture.

The Electrical Engineer II is responsible for the research, design, development, prototyping, integration, and validation of advanced electronic systems used in scientific imaging products, microscope systems, and research instrumentation. This position works within cross‑functional, global development teams to create innovative electrical hardware and system‑level solutions for image acquisition, precision control, high‑speed data processing, calibration, and instrumentation applications.

The ideal candidate is a hands‑on R&D electrical engineer with strong experience in analog, digital, and mixed‑signal circuit design, PCB development, embedded systems and board bring‑up, prototyping, laboratory testing, system integration, and troubleshooting. The engineer will own electronic designs from initial requirements and architecture through prototype validation, production release, and manufacturing support.

The Electrical Engineer II will contribute to the successful transition of new products from concept to production and will occasionally participate in technical discussions with customers, sales, field service personnel, suppliers, and manufacturing teams.

• Design and develop electronic hardware for precision scientific instruments, microscope systems, imaging products, and peripherals in an R&D product‑development environment.
• Develop or modify embedded firmware in C/C++ as needed to support hardware bring‑up, device control, communications, testing, and system integration.
• Design low‑noise analog, digital, and mixed‑signal electronic circuits for precision instrumentation, imaging systems, detectors, laser control, motion control, and data acquisition.
• Own R&D electrical designs from requirements and architecture through component selection, schematic capture, PCB layout, prototyping, bench testing, design verification, manufacturing release, and sustaining engineering.
• Develop electro‑optical and electro‑mechanical designs supporting new catalog products, custom systems, and experimental prototypes.
• Integrate electrical hardware with firmware, software, optical, and electromechanical subsystems into complete imaging and instrumentation systems.
• Troubleshoot complex system‑level issues involving electronic hardware, firmware, software, optics, and electromechanical assemblies.
• Perform circuit simulation, bench testing, characterization, and electronic verification using industry‑standard simulation and laboratory tools.
• Design manufacturing test fixtures, engineering validation procedures, and production test plans.
• Prepare and maintain engineering documentation including BOMs, schematics, PCB files, drawings, test procedures, manufacturing documentation, and material specifications.
• Support transfer of new products from R&D into Manufacturing with emphasis on design for manufacturability (DFM), design for test (DFT), reliability, and repeatability.
• Manage project schedules, technical milestones, experiments, design reviews, and engineering deliverables.
• Coordinate with component vendors, PCB fabricators, contract manufacturers, and suppliers during prototype and production development.
• Participate in design reviews and provide technical guidance to junior engineers and technicians.
• Assist Manufacturing and Production with electrical troubleshooting and sustaining engineering support.
• Occasionally participate in technical discussions with customers, Sales, Product Management, and Field Service.

Requirements

Qualifications:

• 4–8 years of professional electrical engineering experience, with significant hands‑on R&D or product‑development experience designing electronic hardware for scientific instrumentation, microscopy, biotechnology, medical devices, semiconductor equipment, precision motion control, or other complex electromechanical systems.
• Demonstrated experience independently developing electrical products or subsystems from requirements and concept through schematic design, PCB development, prototype build, laboratory validation, manufacturing release, and production support.
• Hands‑on experience troubleshooting and validating complex analog, digital, mixed‑signal, and integrated electronic systems using standard laboratory instrumentation.
• Experience working within multidisciplinary R&D engineering teams and collaborating with mechanical, optical, software, firmware, manufacturing, and systems engineering functions.
• Practical embedded‑systems experience, including the ability to develop, modify, or troubleshoot microcontroller firmware when needed for hardware bring‑up, control, communications, and system integration.

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or a closely related engineering discipline with substantial electronic hardware design experience required.
• Equivalent combination of education and directly applicable experience may be considered.

Specialized Knowledge and Skills:

• Analog, digital, and mixed‑signal circuit design for R&D and product‑development applications
• Low‑noise analog design, signal conditioning, timing circuits, clock generation, and precision measurement electronics.
• Power supply, power distribution, grounding, protection, and power‑management design.
• Advanced Altium Designer schematic capture and multilayer PCB layout.
• High‑speed and impedance‑controlled PCB routing, component selection, and design‑for‑manufacturability practices.
• Hands‑on prototypes bring‑up, bench testing, design verification, failure analysis, and root‑cause troubleshooting.
• Working experience with embedded firmware development in C/C++ for microcontrollers or embedded processors as it relates to hardware control and integration.
• Familiarity with ARM Cortex or similar microcontrollers/processors and common hardware interfaces.
• I2C, SPI, UART, USB, Ethernet, and other common board‑level communication interfaces.
• Integration of electrical, firmware, software, optical, and electromechanical subsystems
• Troubleshooting integrated imaging, instrumentation, or complex electromechanical systems.
• Optoelectronic circuit design, sensors, detectors, laser control electronics, and control systems.
• SPICE simulation and engineering analysis.
• Oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, spectrum analyzers, digital multimeters, power supplies, and other laboratory instrumentation.
• Experience with one or more of the following is beneficial: scientific imaging, microscopy, FPGA/VHDL/Verilog, EMC/EMI, precision motion control, semiconductor equipment, medical devices, or biotechnology instrumentation.
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills.
• Strong organization and project management.
• Ability to manage multiple projects in a fast‑paced R&D environment.
• Initiative, problem solving, experimentation, and adaptability.

The estimated pay range for this role is $84,900 - $ 110,000 annually

Thorlabs values its diverse environment and is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified individuals will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identify or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age or veteran status. Job descriptions are not intended as and do not create employment contracts. The organization maintains its status as an at‑will employer. Employees can be terminated for any reason not prohibited by law.

Benefits

Thorlabs offers a complete benefits package that includes

• medical, dental and vision insurance
• company paid life insurance
• a generous PTO package
• a 401(k) plan
• tuition reimbursement just to name a few