Senior Optical Engineer: High-Power Fiber Lasers & Welding

Miller Electric Mfg. LLC; Appleton (WI); On-site; USD 110,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

ITW in Wisconsin seeks a Senior Optical Engineer to lead design, development and validation of high-power fiber laser systems for industrial manufacturing, including welding applications. You will prototype optical architectures and drive beam shaping with multidisciplinary teams.

The role requires an MS/PhD in a relevant field and 5+ years with 1–10 kW lasers; strong communication, safety, and analytical skills are a must, with hands-on testing and optimization.

Qualifications

• MS/PhD in Optical Engineering or related field.
• 5+ years with high-power fiber laser systems (1 kW–10+ kW).
• Strong understanding of fiber laser architectures and beam delivery.
• Experience with optical test and measurement equipment.
• Familiarity with laser safety standards.
• Analytical, troubleshooting and experimental skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, validate, and optimize high-power fiber laser systems and optical architectures.
• Lead integration of laser sources, beam delivery components, process heads, sensors, and automation systems into manufacturing environments.
• Develop test plans, qualification procedures, and process validation protocols.
• Ensure compliance with laser safety standards, quality requirements, and industry regulations.
• Analyze and improve laser beam propagation, beam quality, focusability, and energy delivery.
• Develop and evaluate optical systems, beam delivery components, collimators, focusing optics, scanners, and process heads.
• Support laser process development for industrial manufacturing applications.
• Perform optical simulations, modeling, testing, and characterization.
• Troubleshoot laser system performance issues and implement corrective actions.
• Collaborate with suppliers, customers, and internal engineering teams on laser system integration projects.
• Stay current with emerging technologies in fiber lasers, optics, photonics, and advanced manufacturing.
• Provide technical leadership and drive optical technology roadmaps for future laser platforms.

Skills

Fiber laser architectures

Optical components & beam delivery

Optical design & characterization

Diagnosing high-power degradation

Optical test & measurement equipment

Laser safety requirements

Analytical troubleshooting

Excellent communication skills

Education

MS or PhD in Optical Engineering / Physics / Photonics / EE

Tools

Zemax

MATLAB

Python

Job description

ITW in Wisconsin seeks a Senior Optical Engineer to lead design, development and validation of high-power fiber laser systems for industrial manufacturing, including welding applications. You will prototype optical architectures and drive beam shaping with multidisciplinary teams.

The role requires an MS/PhD in a relevant field and 5+ years with 1–10 kW lasers; strong communication, safety, and analytical skills are a must, with hands-on testing and optimization.