Lead Optical Systems Engineer – FSOC Prototyping & Demos

Torchlight Solutions; Massachusetts; On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work hours

Health and dental benefits

Meaningful equity

Job summary

Torchlight Solutions, LLC is seeking a senior optical systems engineer to own the design and architecture of FSOC laser communication terminals from concept to validated hardware and field demonstrations. You will lead device-level photonics and full system integration, developing integrated prototypes and supporting early customer demonstrations.

This is a ground-floor opportunity to shape technology, the team, and the company’s growth.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. with 3+ years (or M.S. with 5+ years) in optics, photonics, or a related field.
• Hands-on experience building, aligning, and measuring optical systems.
• Experience with FSOC, laser communications, beam control, or space qualification.
• Proficiency with Zemax, Lumerical, and Tidy3D for design and simulation.

Responsibilities

• Lead optical design and architecture of transceiver subsystems and prototypes.
• Build and integrate optical hardware, testbeds, and test systems to validate performance.
• Develop and execute test plans to characterize optoelectronic devices, then analyze and summarize results.
• Perform modeling and analysis to guide design decisions and system-level tradeoffs.
• Drive iterative prototyping from concept through laboratory and field demonstrations.
• Collaborate across photonics, electronics, firmware, and mechanical teams to define requirements and integrate subsystems.

Skills

Optics design

Lab hands-on

Project leadership

FSOC/laser comm

Integrated photonics

Education

PhD in optics

MS in optics

Tools

Zemax

Lumerical

Tidy3D

Job description

Torchlight Solutions, LLC is seeking a senior optical systems engineer to own the design and architecture of FSOC laser communication terminals from concept to validated hardware and field demonstrations. You will lead device-level photonics and full system integration, developing integrated prototypes and supporting early customer demonstrations.

This is a ground-floor opportunity to shape technology, the team, and the company’s growth.