Optical Materials Engineer

Langham Recruitment; City of Rochester (NY); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

100% employer-paid medical coverage

401(k) with company match

Paid vacation, sick leave and personal

Job summary

Langham Recruitment in Rochester, NY, seeks an Optical Materials & Crystal Growth Engineer to advance advanced optical materials for high-performance laser systems.

The role focuses on single-crystal growth, fabrication and characterization, collaborating with partners to develop new materials and integrate them into optical devices.

Qualifications

• Strong hands-on experience with optical material fabrication, with emphasis on single-crystal growth.
• Knowledge of crystal growth techniques (Czochralski, Bridgman, Float-Zone, LPE).
• Experience with optical crystal and material characterization (XRD, absorption spectroscopy, CRD).
• Experience developing, fabricating or characterizing optical materials and devices.
• Hands-on experience with optical systems and metrology techniques.
• Strong experimental, data analysis and problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

• Support the development and fabrication of advanced optical materials and single crystals for laser and photonic applications.
• Collaborate with partners on new optical materials where supply chains are lacking.
• Build, test and characterize early-stage optical devices and prototypes.
• Use optical metrology to evaluate material and device performance.
• Develop and maintain supplier relationships for high-performance optical materials and components.
• Establish and qualify new suppliers and materials as they become available.
• Collaborate with engineers to integrate optical components into laser and photonic systems.
• Produce technical reports, material specifications and engineering documentation.

Skills

Single-crystal growth

Optical material fabrication

Optical metrology

Data analysis

Experimental methods

Education

PhD in a relevant scientific or engineering discipline

MS with relevant experience

Tools

Crystal growth equipment

Optical measurement systems

Job description

Overview

An innovative organization within the photonics and laser technology space is seeking an Optical Materials & Crystal Growth Engineer to support the development of advanced optical materials and devices.

This is a highly hands-on role with a strong focus on single-crystal growth, optical material fabrication and characterization. You will work with advanced optical crystals and materials used in high-performance laser and photonic systems, taking responsibility for developing new materials, evaluating suppliers and supporting the development of next-generation optical devices.

Key Responsibilities

• Support the development and fabrication of advanced optical materials and single crystals for laser and photonic applications.
• Work with internal and external partners on the development of new optical materials where an established supply chain does not exist.
• Build, test and characterize early-stage optical devices and prototypes.
• Use optical metrology and characterization techniques to evaluate material and device performance.
• Develop and maintain relationships with suppliers of high-performance optical materials and components.
• Establish and qualify new suppliers and materials as they become available.
• Collaborate with optical, mechanical and systems engineers to integrate optical and magneto-optical components into laser and photonic systems.
• Produce technical reports, material specifications and engineering documentation.

Required Qualifications

• Strong hands-on experience with optical material fabrication, with particular emphasis on single-crystal growth.
• Working knowledge of crystal growth techniques such as Czochralski, Bridgman, Float-Zone and/or Liquid Phase Epitaxy (LPE).
• Experience with optical crystal and material characterization techniques such as XRD, absorption spectroscopy and CRD.
• Experience developing, fabricating or characterizing optical materials and devices.
• Hands-on experience working with optical systems, optical components and standard optical metrology techniques.
• Strong experimental, data analysis and problem-solving skills.
• PhD in a relevant scientific or engineering discipline preferred; MS candidates with relevant experience will also be considered.

Highly Desirable

• Direct experience developing or growing optical crystals or magneto-optical materials.
• Experience with optical ceramics or related fabrication processes.
• Knowledge of optical isolators, Faraday rotators or high-extinction polarizers.
• Experience taking new optical materials from early-stage development through characterization and device integration.
• 100% employer-paid medical coverage
• 401(k) with company match
• Paid vacation, sick leave and personal days