Senior Optical Engineer - Lead WSS Prototyping

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

Job summary

Molex is seeking a Senior Optical Engineer at our Bridgewater, NJ site to lead the design and prototyping of next‑generation optical products. You will drive system‑level architecture for WSS, DGE, and OCM modules, mentor engineers, and ensure rigorous validation with advanced free‑space optics and Zemax simulations.

You will collaborate with mechanical, hardware, firmware, and software teams to deliver robust, manufacturable solutions for hyperscale optical networks, while maintaining high

Qualifications

• PhD or Master’s degree in engineering or physics with a photonics focus.
• 10+ years of industry experience in optical product development.
• Hands-on experience with optical alignment and fiber coupling techniques.
• Experience with optical measurement equipment and measurement techniques.
• Experience mentoring engineers and leading design investigations.
• Experience with Zemax or similar optical design tools.
• Experience in spectrometer design is a plus.
• Optical system design for manufacturability and cost is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Engage early in new product development to understand optical system architecture, performance trade-offs, and design intent.
• Develop performance specifications and system-level behaviors for WSS, DGE, and OCM modules.
• Collaborate with optical design to translate concepts into validated prototypes with complex free-space alignment.
• Lead investigations on prototypes to identify performance gaps, failure modes, and design improvements.
• Apply data-driven root cause analysis to resolve complex optical and system issues.
• Design and execute validation plans emphasizing repeatability and measurement integrity.
• Utilize optical measurement equipment (OSA, polarization analyzers, PV) during testing and evaluation.
• Leverage Zemax simulations for tolerance analysis and correlation with experiments.
• Collaborate with mechanical, hardware, firmware, and software teams to ensure robust integration of subsystems.
• Provide mentorship to engineers and strengthen engineering rigor and problem-solving skills.
• Balance deep technical work with system-level thinking aligned to the product roadmap and manufacturability.
• Contribute to innovation strategy, design reviews, risk assessments, and architectural decisions.

Skills

Optical alignment

Fiber coupling

Measurement techniques

Mentoring engineers

System-level design

Education

PhD or Master’s in Engineering/Physics (Photonics)

Tools

Zemax

Job description

Molex is seeking a Senior Optical Engineer at our Bridgewater, NJ site to lead the design and prototyping of next‑generation optical products. You will drive system‑level architecture for WSS, DGE, and OCM modules, mentor engineers, and ensure rigorous validation with advanced free‑space optics and Zemax simulations.

You will collaborate with mechanical, hardware, firmware, and software teams to deliver robust, manufacturable solutions for hyperscale optical networks, while maintaining high