Senior Optical Systems Engineer — Prototype to Flight

Samson Rose; Los Angeles, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Samson Rose is seeking a Senior Optical Design Engineer to own end-to-end optical subsystems—from initial sketch and simulation through prototyping and flight-grade production hardware. You’ll be in the lab aligning, in the design review defending, and in the field watching performance.

If you want optics to matter in systems that ship, this is the role for you, with real ownership, real impact, and real hardware.

Qualifications

• 9+ years in optical design with nanophotonics or metasurfaces.
• Background in optical compute, laser communications, or 4D lidar.
• US citizenship with clearance eligibility; on-site full-time.
• Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in Optical Engineering, Physics, or Electrical Engineering.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, modeling, and tolerance analysis of complex optical systems from concept to final release.
• Develop and validate optical architectures for laser-based and imaging systems.
• Own optical performance budgets and run trade studies across SWaP, cost, reliability, and manufacturability.
• Build, test, and troubleshoot prototypes through flight and production hardware.
• Partner with Systems, Electrical, Mechanical, and Manufacturing for clean integration.
• Drive technical design reviews and mentor junior optical engineers.
• Support transition of optical designs from R&D into production at scale.

Skills

Optical design

Nanophotonics

Metasurface design

Optical phased arrays

4D Lidar

Hands-on prototyping

Laser systems

Education

Bachelor's/Master's/PhD in Optical Engineering/Physics/Electrical Engineering

Job description

Samson Rose is seeking a Senior Optical Design Engineer to own end-to-end optical subsystems—from initial sketch and simulation through prototyping and flight-grade production hardware. You’ll be in the lab aligning, in the design review defending, and in the field watching performance.

If you want optics to matter in systems that ship, this is the role for you, with real ownership, real impact, and real hardware.