Senior Optical Design Engineer

SO-SEMI Technologies, LLC; San Jose (CA); Remote; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Opportunity for advancement

Job summary

Optopax, a Silicon Valley‑based design and OEM manufacturing company, seeks a Senior Optical Design Engineer to lead advanced optical system development from simulation to integration within our imaging platforms. You will drive innovation in photonics, AI cameras, and embedded vision while collaborating across mechanical, electrical, firmware, and manufacturing teams.

The role emphasizes design validation, documentation, and strong customer interactions, with remote US eligibility and

Qualifications

• Master’s or PhD in Optical Engineering, Physics, or related field.
• Minimum 5+ years experience in optical design.
• High proficiency with optical design and simulation tools (e.g., Zemax, Code V).
• Strong fundamentals in optics design methodology, fabrication, DFM, tolerancing, and metrology.
• Experience in design documentation and cross-functional collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, simulation, tolerancing, and optimization of complex optical systems.
• Perform stray-light, ray-trace, wavefront, photon budget, and DFM analyses.
• Translate customer specifications into detailed design requirements; collaborate across teams.
• Guide validation of designs via lab testing, metrology, and performance measurement.
• Mentor and support junior optical engineers and cross-functional partners.
• Drive innovation through research into new optical technologies and materials.
• Drive technical communications and negotiations with customers.

Skills

5+ years experience

Optical design

DFM & tolerancing

Design documentation

Mentoring

Education

Master’s or PhD in Optical Engineering/Physics

Tools

Ansys Optics Studio (Zemax)

Zemax

Code V

LightTools

Lumerical

Job description

Benefits:

• Opportunity for advancement

About Us

Optopax is a Silicon Valley–based design and OEM manufacturing company delivering integrated AI imaging solutions—from concept through prototyping to production. We specialize in AI‑enabled camera modules, high‑precision optics across UV to LWIR, and custom embedded systems powering robotics, industrial vision, submersible imaging, biomedical devices, AR/VR optics, medical and optical computing. Join our small, global team headquartered in San Jose, CA on a mission to engineer and manufacture camera solutions that transform how machines see, through custom optics, sensor integration, and embedded imaging platforms.

About the Role

As a Senior Optical Design Engineer, you’ll lead the development of advanced optical systems—taking ideas from simulation through validation and integration into Optopax’s end‑to‑end imaging platforms. You’ll drive innovation and help strengthen our capabilities in photonics, AI cameras, and embedded vision. We are open to remote candidates within the US with a preference for Bay Area candidates to work on-site alongside the Executive Management team in San Jose, CA.

This is a contract engagement with strong potential to extend or convert to full-time if located in California.

What You’ll Do

• Lead design, simulation, tolerancing, and optimization of complex optical systems using tools such as Ansys Optics Studio (Zemax), Code V, LightTools, Lumerical, Quadoa, or equivalent.
• Perform stray‑light, ray‑trace, wavefront, photon budget, and design for manufacturability (DFM) analyses (e.g., Monte‑Carlo tolerancing).
• Translate customer specifications into detailed design requirements; collaborate across mechanical, electrical, firmware/software, and manufacturing teams for system integration and prototyping.
• Guide validation of designs via lab testing, metrology, and performance measurement (e.g., MTF, distortion, SNR, wavefront).
• Mentor and support junior optical engineers and cross‑functional partners, establishing design best practices and documentation.
• Drive innovation through research into new optical technologies, materials, coatings, and manufacturing techniques, informing future product strategies.
• Drive critical technical communications / negotiations with customers to ensure optical solutions align with performance, cost, and manufacturability goals.

Required

• Master’s or PhD in Optical Engineering, Physics, or a related field.
• Minimum 5+ years experience in optical design and engineering—ideally handling advanced, multi‑element systems.
• High proficiency with optical design and simulation tools (e.g., Zemax, Code V and others).
• Strong fundamentals in geometrical and physical optics design methodology, optical fabrication techniques, DFM, tolerancing, and metrology.
• Experience in design documentation and cross‑functional collaboration.

Preferred

• Background in imaging systems for robotics, embedded cameras, LWIR, biomedical, AR/VR, sensors, or AI vision modules (reflecting Optopax’s core markets).
• Exposure to prototyping processes including wafer‑level optics, active alignment, cleanroom assembly, or rapid prototyping workflows.
• Familiarity with optical test stations or imaging qualification methods (a pillar of Optopax’s product offerings).
• Experience in team leadership or mentoring, and process improvement with a proven track record of success
• Programming or scripting skill (MATLAB, Python) for automation of analyses or data processing.

This is a remote position.