Senior Optical Systems Engineer — R&D (Laser Tech)

Aurelius Systems; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Health coverage

Flexible PTO

Field testing opportunities

Office lunches

Job summary

Aurelius Systems in San Francisco seeks a senior optical engineer to own optical design for our directed energy platform. You will lead design, analysis, and trade studies for core system components and work with mechanical and electrical teammates to translate optics into deployed hardware.

This role rewards deep optical theory, hands-on testing, and system-level thinking in a fast-moving startup. You’ll influence decisions from first principles, maintain rigorous validation, and communicate

Qualifications

• Strong background in optical engineering and related physics-based system work.
• Experience designing, analyzing, and debugging optical systems in practice.
• Ability to lead technical investigations from first principles.

Responsibilities

• Lead optical design and analysis for core system components.
• Drive optical investigations, trade studies, and system-level decisions.
• Specify and evaluate optical components and architectures.
• Collaborate with mechanical engineers on packaging and integration.
• Support tolerance analysis, performance validation, and design iteration.
• Lead alignment, characterization, and test efforts for integrated optics.

Skills

Optical design

Optical theory

System-level problem solving

First principles reasoning

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Mentoring/leadership

Education

BS/MS in Optical Engineering/Physics/Mechanical Engineering

Job description

Aurelius Systems in San Francisco seeks a senior optical engineer to own optical design for our directed energy platform. You will lead design, analysis, and trade studies for core system components and work with mechanical and electrical teammates to translate optics into deployed hardware.

This role rewards deep optical theory, hands-on testing, and system-level thinking in a fast-moving startup. You’ll influence decisions from first principles, maintain rigorous validation, and communicate