Principal Optical Engineer

Molex; Bridgewater Township (NJ); On-site; USD 160,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental

Vision

Educational assistance

Paid vacation

Job summary

Molex in Bridgewater, NJ is seeking a Principal Optical Engineer to lead the design, prototyping, and integration of next-generation WSS and DGE modules.

You will mentor engineers, drive system architecture, and collaborate with opto-mechanical teams to ensure manufacturability and top-tier performance across optical networks.

Qualifications

• PhD degree in Engineering, Physics, Photonics or related technical field.
• At least 10 years of industry experience with Optical Design in a product development environment.
• Deep theoretical and practical experience in Optics and fiber coupling.
• Extensive experience with Zemax and ability to design complex optical systems.
• Proven track record of innovation from concept to production.
• Ability to mentor engineers and act as a technical authority across teams.
• Familiarity with LCOS, MEMS, precision lenses and polarization optics is a plus.
• Experience with opto-mechanical integration, alignment strategies, and tolerance stacks.
• Experience with spectrometer design and WSS is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead the innovation and detailed design of next generation WSS and DGE modules.
• Develop advanced free space optical system designs including beam shaping and fiber coupling.
• Own optical system architecture from concept through feasibility, reviews, and release.
• Drive innovation to improve performance, reduce size, and lower cost.
• Perform Zemax-based modeling with tolerance and stray light analysis.
• Translate performance requirements into optical specifications and budgets.
• Collaborate with opto-mechanical engineers for robust packaging and manufacturability.
• Participate in hands-on prototyping and validation to ensure design-experiment correlation.
• Lead technical reviews and justify design decisions with data and analysis.
• Contribute to IP development, including invention disclosures and patents.

Skills

Optical design

Fiber coupling

Leadership

Mentorship

Education

PhD in Engineering/Physics/Photonics

Tools

Zemax

Job description

Molex is a global leader in the optical industry, renowned for delivering high-performance, field-proven wavelength management solutions. Our expertise spans components, modules, and integrated line-cards, with a strong focus on innovation, miniaturization, and manufacturing automation. Our advanced optical, mechanical, electrical, and software design capabilities support the evolving needs of high-density, high-bandwidth, and flexible optical networks across telecom, datacom, hyperscale datacenters, artificial intelligence, and supercomputing.

Our Bridgewater location is home to a large, multidisciplinary Optical Engineering team dedicated to the innovation, design, development, and prototyping of next-generation wavelength selective switches (WSS) and dynamic gain equalization (DGE) modules. These highly sophisticated products leverage state-of-the-art optical technologies and represent some of the most advanced solutions in industry. The selected candidate will gain extensive exposure to cutting-edge advancements in optical communications and play a direct role in shaping the evolution of high-capacity optical networks deployed by hyperscale customers.

We are seeking a Principal Optical Engineer to lead the innovation, design, and prototyping of our next-generation optical products. This role requires deep technical expertise, strong leadership capabilities, and the ability to drive complex programs from concept through development.

The ideal candidate will possess a strong foundation in optics and deep understanding in optical system design including fiber coupling, collimation, diffraction, polarization and beam shaping. This individual will serve as a technical authority within the organization, contributing to detailed optical design work while maintaining a clear focus on system-level architecture, product performance, and delivery milestones.

As a senior technical leader, the Principal Optical Engineer will mentor and guide junior, intermediate, and senior engineers, fostering technical growth, ensuring high engineering standards, and effectively leveraging team strengths to achieve project objectives.

What You Will Do

• Lead the innovation and detailed design of next generation WSS, and DGE modules
• Develop advanced free space optical systems designs, including beam collimation, beam shaping, diffraction management, polarization control and high efficiency fiber coupling.
• Own optical system architecture from concept through feasibility, design reviews, and design release.
• Drive innovation initiatives, identifying novel optical approaches to improve performance, reduce size, enhance robustness, and lower cost.
• Perform advanced optical modeling and simulation using Zemax, including sequential and non-sequential ray tracing, tolerance analysis, stray light analysis, and sensitivity studies.
• Translate system performance requirements into detailed optical specifications, budgets, and design trade-offs.
• Work closely with opto-mechanical engineers to ensure robust packaging, alignment strategy, thermal stability, and manufacturability of optical systems.
• Participate in hands-on prototyping and validation activities to ensure strong correlation between design models and experimental results.
• Lead technical design reviews and provide clear justification of design decisions using simulation data and engineering analysis.
• Contribute to intellectual property development, including invention disclosures and patents.

Who You Are (Basic Qualifications)

• PhD degree in Engineering, Physics, Photonics or related technical field
• At least 10 years of industry experience with Optical Design in a product development environment
• Deep theoretical and practical experience in Optics and fiber coupling
• Extensive experience with optical simulation tools such as Zemax with demonstrated ability to design complex optical systems.
• Proven track record of innovation in a product development environment taking designs from concept to production
• Proven ability to guide and mentor Engineers and act as a technical authority with cross-functional teams
• Familiarity with advanced optical components such as LCOS, MEMS, precision Lenses and polarization optics a strong plus
• Experience with opto-mechanical integration, optical alignment strategies and tolerance stack-ups.
• Experience with spectrometer design is a big plus
• Prior experience with WSS is a big plus
• Experience with optical system design for manufacturing, design and cost

For this role, we anticipate paying $160,000 - $200,000 per year. This role is eligible for variable pay, issued as a monetary bonus or in another form.

Hiring Philosophy

All Koch companies value diversity of thought, perspectives, aptitudes, experiences, and backgrounds. We are Military Ready and Second Chance employers. Learn more about our hiring philosophy here.

Who We Are

At Koch, employees are empowered to do what they do best to make life better. Learn how our business philosophy helps employees unleash their potential while creating value for themselves and the company.

Our Benefits

Our goal is for each employee, and their families, to live fulfilling and healthy lives. We provide essential resources and support to build and maintain physical, financial, and emotional strength - focusing on overall wellbeing so you can focus on what matters most.

• medical
• dental
• vision
• flexible spending and health savings accounts
• life insurance
• ADD
• disability
• retirement
• paid vacation/time off
• educational assistance
• may also include infertility assistance
• paid parental leave and adoption assistance

Specific eligibility criteria is set by the applicable Summary Plan Description, policy or guideline and benefits may vary by geographic region. If you have questions on what benefits apply to you, please speak to your recruiter.

Equal Opportunities

Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and protected veteran status. Except where prohibited by state law, some offers of employment are conditioned upon successfully passing a drug test. This employer uses E-Verify. Please click here for additional information. (For Illinois E-Verify information click here, aqui, or tu).