Lead Photonics R&D Manager — Defense Tech (NJ)

Darwin Recruitment; New Jersey; On-site; USD 225,000 - 275,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual Performance Bonus

Comprehensive Benefits

Job summary

Darwin Recruitment in the United States is partnering with a premier defence tech innovator in New Jersey to recruit a Manager of Photonics Development. This leadership role directs a high-caliber R&D team focused on photonic subsystems, high-power directed energy, ruggedized LiDAR, and secure free-space optical links for extreme environments.

Lead architecture and program execution across internal R&D and government contracts, ensuring MIL-STD compliance and SWaP-C targets while scaling

Qualifications

• MS/PhD required in a relevant field (Photonics/Optical Eng/Physics/EE).
• 5+ years of hands-on photonics R&D experience, incl. 2+ years leading teams or programs.
• Proven track record with III-V semiconductors, fiber lasers, nonlinear optics, or ruggedized optical systems.
• Security Clearance: U.S. Citizenship required; ability to obtain/maintain DoD Secret or Top Secret clearance.

Responsibilities

• Technical Leadership: Direct multidisciplinary photonics engineers, physicists, and technicians from concept to prototypes.
• System Architecture: Develop PICs, fiber laser architectures, and electro-optic sensors for aerospace/defense platforms.
• Program Execution: Manage R&D budgets, labs, and milestones for internal and government contracts.
• Cross-Functional Alignment: Align with systems engineering, reliability, and manufacturing to meet SWaP-C and MIL-STD requirements.

Skills

Photonics R&D leadership

Team leadership

System architecture

Security clearance readiness

Education

MS/PhD in Photonics/Optical Engineering/Physics/Electrical Engineering

Job description

Darwin Recruitment in the United States is partnering with a premier defence tech innovator in New Jersey to recruit a Manager of Photonics Development. This leadership role directs a high-caliber R&D team focused on photonic subsystems, high-power directed energy, ruggedized LiDAR, and secure free-space optical links for extreme environments.

Lead architecture and program execution across internal R&D and government contracts, ensuring MIL-STD compliance and SWaP-C targets while scaling