Senior R&D Engineer — Photonics

HRUCKUS; San Jose (CA); Presencial; USD 165.000 - 195.000; Jornada completa

Descripción de la vacante

HRUCKUS is seeking a Senior R&D Engineer — Photonics for an onsite assignment in San Jose, CA. The candidate should have an MS or PhD in optics or related discipline and 10+ years of hands-on R&D experience in photonics and optical systems.

The role requires leadership in experimental design, building prototypes, and translating requirements into test plans and deliverables. Expect to work with integrated optics, fiber optics, lasers, detectors, and analyzers to advance manufacturable solutions.

Formación

• MS or PhD in optics, photonics, applied physics, electrical engineering, or closely related discipline.
• Approximately 10+ years of relevant applied R&D or advanced engineering experience with substantial hands‑on experimental work.
• Strong theoretical and practical understanding of photonics and optical systems.
• Independent experience designing, building, integrating, and testing optical and electro‑optical systems.
• Practical experience with several of fiber optics, integrated optics, waveguides, modulators, lasers, and detectors.
• Ability to design meaningful experiments, characterize uncertainty, analyze complex data, and solve difficult technical problems.
• Working familiarity with electronic instrumentation, controls, and laboratory software.
• Demonstrated progress from concept through laboratory demonstration and prototyping.
• Strong technical writing and communication; effective independent and collaborative work.

Responsabilidades

• Independently lead investigations involving integrated optics, fiber optics, photonic components, and electro‑optical assemblies.
• Design, prototype, integrate, and test optical devices and subsystems.
• Troubleshoot optical losses, polarization, noise, stability, environmental effects, and system integration.
• Develop experiments to discriminate between competing hypotheses and validate solutions.
• Apply theory, simulation, and empirical data to improve products and new capabilities.
• Design and build optical test setups, experimental equipment, and prototype systems.
• Work with lasers, detectors, fibers, waveguides, modulators, and interferometers.
• Integrate optical hardware with electronics, controls, instrumentation, and software.
• Develop measurement and data acquisition methods.
• Process and interpret noisy or conflicting data, including uncertainty analysis and signal processing.
• Design or support opto‑mechanical assemblies, optical packages, and measurement fixtures.
• Independently plan and execute technical work packages for customer‑funded and internal R&D.
• Translate requirements into experimental plans, test methods, prototypes, and deliverables.
• Identify technical risks and drive complex investigations to resolution.
• Advance developments from concept through functioning prototypes and manufacturing transition.
• Work with Manufacturing Engineering to address production‑related technical problems.
• Prepare clear technical reports, results, design reviews, test records, and customer presentations.
• Write technical content for proposals, statements of work, and customer deliverables.
• Maintain rigorous lab notebooks, data, and design documentation.
• Communicate technical recommendations clearly and challenge assumptions using evidence.

Conocimientos

Photonic systems expertise

Experimental design

Data analysis

Technical writing

Cross-functional work

Educación

MS or PhD in optics/photonics/applied physics/EE

Herramientas

MATLAB

Python

LabVIEW

Zemax OpticStudio

Descripción del empleo

Veteran Firm Seeking a Senior R&D Engineer — Photonics for an onsite Assignment in San Jose, CA

My name is Stephen Hrutka. I lead a Veteran-Owned management consulting firm in Washington, DC. We specialize in Technical and Cleared Recruiting for the Department of Defense (DoD), the Intelligence Community (IC), and other advanced defense agencies.

At HRUCKUS, we support fellow Veteran-Owned businesses by helping them recruit for positions across organizations such as the VA, SBA, HHS, DARPA, and other leading-edge R&D-focused defense agencies.

We seek to fill a Senior R&D Engineer — Photonics role in San Jose, CA

The ideal candidate is a San Jose, CA resident with an MS or PhD in optics or a related discipline, 10 or more years of relevant applied R&D experience with substantial hands‑on experimental work, and a strong theoretical and practical understanding of photonics and optical systems

If you’re interested, I'll gladly provide more details about the role and further discuss your qualifications.

Thanks,

Stephen M Hrutka

Principal Consultant

www.hruckus.com

Executive Summary:

HRUCKUS is looking for an experienced Senior R&D Engineer — Photonics to expand the engineering team’s capacity across a growing portfolio of active programs by taking ownership of complex technical problems, designing and executing experiments, building and testing prototypes, and delivering practical solutions.

Position Description:

This hands‑on role requires an experienced engineer or applied physicist who can independently lead investigations involving integrated optics, fiber optics, photonic components, and electro‑optical assemblies. The engineer will design and build optical test setups, integrate optical hardware with electronics, plan and execute technical work packages for customer‑funded and internal R&D, and prepare clear technical documentation and reports.

Position Responsibilities

• Independently lead investigations involving integrated optics, fiber optics, photonic components, and electro‑optical assemblies.
• Design, prototype, integrate, and test optical devices and subsystems.
• Troubleshoot optical losses, polarization, noise, stability, environmental effects, and system integration.
• Develop experiments to discriminate between competing hypotheses and validate solutions.
• Apply theory, simulation, and empirical data to improve products and new capabilities.
• Design and build optical test setups, experimental equipment, and prototype systems.
• Work with lasers, detectors, fibers, waveguides, modulators, and interferometers.
• Integrate optical hardware with electronics, controls, instrumentation, and software.
• Develop measurement and data acquisition methods.
• Process and interpret noisy or conflicting data, including uncertainty analysis and signal processing.
• Design or support opto‑mechanical assemblies, optical packages, and measurement fixtures.
• Independently plan and execute technical work packages for customer‑funded and internal R&D.
• Translate requirements into experimental plans, test methods, prototypes, and deliverables.
• Identify technical risks and drive complex investigations to resolution.
• Advance developments from concept through functioning prototypes and manufacturing transition.
• Work with Manufacturing Engineering to address production‑related technical problems.
• Prepare clear technical reports, results, design reviews, test records, and customer presentations.
• Write technical content for proposals, statements of work, and customer deliverables.
• Maintain rigorous lab notebooks, data, and design documentation.
• Communicate technical recommendations clearly and challenge assumptions using evidence.

Required Qualifications:

• MS or PhD in optics, photonics, applied physics, electrical engineering, or closely related discipline.
• Approximately 10+ years of relevant applied R&D or advanced engineering experience with substantial hands‑on experimental work.
• Strong theoretical and practical understanding of photonics and optical systems.
• Independent experience designing, building, integrating, and testing optical and electro‑optical systems.
• Practical experience with several of fiber optics, integrated optics, waveguides, modulators, lasers, and detectors.
• Ability to design meaningful experiments, characterize uncertainty, analyze complex data, and solve difficult technical problems.
• Working familiarity with electronic instrumentation, controls, and laboratory software.
• Demonstrated progress from concept through laboratory demonstration and prototyping.
• Strong technical writing and communication; effective independent and collaborative work.

Desired Qualifications:

• Electro‑optic waveguide modulators and integrated‑optic devices.
• Interferometry, polarization, coherent optics, and fiber‑optic sensing.
• FOGs, inertial navigation, or quantum sensing.
• PICs, planar lightwave circuits, optical packaging, or multichip integration.
• Noise characterization, filtering, and weak‑signal extraction.
• MATLAB, Python, LabVIEW, or related technical computing and instrumentation tools.
• Zemax OpticStudio or comparable optical design tools.
• Complex opto‑mechanics and manufacturing test equipment design.
• Aerospace or defense hardware; technical proposals and customer‑funded development.
• Transitioning experimental prototypes into manufacturable products.

Details

Job Title: Senior R&D Engineer — Photonics

Location: San Jose, CA

Salary Range: $165,000–$195,000