Senior Technical Sales Engineer

Optigon; Somerville (MA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Commission

Equity

Health insurance

401(k) Matching

In-person role

Job summary

Optigon is seeking a Senior Technical Sales Engineer to lead sales and business development for its materials characterization systems. You will own the sales process from initial contact to close, engaging researchers and engineers and building relationships across academic and industrial customers.

You will work closely with founders and the engineering team to expand the customer base, identify opportunities, and help shape Optigon’s commercial growth while traveling domestically and

Qualifications

• Master’s degree or PhD preferred; bachelor’s with relevant experience acceptable.
• 2+ years in technical sales, business development, or customer-facing roles involving scientific equipment.
• Strong technical understanding of materials science, optical characterization, or related fields.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with technical audiences.

Responsibilities

• Own sales opportunities from initial contact through close.
• Develop and maintain relationships with researchers, engineers, and decision-makers at academic and industrial sites.
• Represent Optigon at conferences, trade shows, and customer meetings, domestically and internationally.
• Coordinate product demonstrations, sample measurements, and technical discussions with the engineering team.
• Maintain and develop CRM, sales pipeline, forecasting, and customer follow-up processes.
• Identify new applications, customer segments, and market opportunities.

Skills

Technical sales

Customer relationships

Communication skills

Organizational skills

Travel readiness

Independent work

Education

Master’s degree or PhD in Materials Science

Bachelor’s degree with relevant experience

Tools

CRM systems

Job description

Optigon builds advanced characterization and quality-inspection tools that help researchers and manufacturers better understand their materials and manufacturing processes. Our approach combines high-speed optical measurements, automation, and analysis software to deliver fast, quantitative insights into material quality, from early-stage R&D through production.

Our flagship product, Prism, is an automated, multimodal spectroscopy instrument. It is used by research institutions and industrial customers across North America, Europe, and Asia, primarily for characterizing perovskites and other advanced optoelectronic materials. With a growing international customer base, we’re now focused on expanding our reach to new customers and applications across research and industry. We are based at Greentown Labs in Somerville, MA.

About the role

We’re looking for a Senior Technical Sales Engineer to lead sales and business development efforts for Optigon’s materials characterization systems. This role is ideal for someone with a strong technical background who enjoys engaging with researchers and engineers, developing customer relationships, and driving sales of sophisticated scientific equipment.

As our first dedicated sales hire, you’ll work closely with our founders and engineering team to expand our customer base across academic research, industrial R&D, and manufacturing. You’ll take ownership of the sales process and work with customer prospects from initial conversation to close by understanding their application and helping identify how Optigon’s measurement solutions can best serve their needs.

In addition to direct sales, you’ll help establish scalable sales processes, identify new market opportunities, and coordinate marketing and outreach efforts. This is a hands‑on role with opportunities to travel domestically and internationally, attend scientific conferences, and play a meaningful part in shaping Optigon’s commercial growth.

Responsibilities

• Own sales opportunities from initial contact through product demonstrations, quotations, negotiations, and close
• Identify and engage prospective customers through outreach, industry research, referrals, and other lead‑generation activities
• Develop and maintain relationships with researchers, engineers, and decision‑makers at academic institutions and industrial companies
• Represent Optigon at scientific conferences, trade shows, customer meetings, and site visits, both domestically and internationally
• Work with our engineering team to coordinate product demonstrations, sample measurements, and technical discussions
• Maintain and develop our CRM, sales pipeline, forecasting, and customer follow‑up processes
• Coordinate marketing and outreach activities, including LinkedIn, email campaigns, conference planning, and scientific content
• Identify new applications, customer segments, and market opportunities for Optigon's measurement technologies
• Gather customer feedback and work with our engineering team to inform product development and commercial strategy
• Contribute to building scalable sales workflows, documentation, and best practices

Desired Qualifications

• Master’s degree or PhD in Materials Science, Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Physics, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field is preferred. A bachelor’s degree in one of these fields is also acceptable with relevant experience.
• 2+ years of relevant experience in technical sales, business development, or a customer-facing role involving scientific or industrial equipment
• Strong technical understanding of materials science, optical characterization, semiconductor devices, or related scientific fields
• Demonstrated ability to independently develop customer relationships, manage sales opportunities, and drive commercial outcomes
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage technical audiences and explain complex technologies
• Strong organizational skills and experience managing multiple customer relationships and sales opportunities
• Willingness to conduct cold outreach, travel to customer sites, and represent Optigon at industry events
• Ability to work independently, take ownership, and contribute across functions in a small-team environment

Additional Experience (nice to have)

• Research or industry experience with perovskites, thin-film photovoltaics, semiconductors, or other optoelectronic materials and devices
• Experience selling scientific instruments, optical characterization systems, semiconductor metrology equipment, or manufacturing inspection systems
• Familiarity with photoluminescence, spectroscopy, microscopy, or other optical characterization techniques
• Existing relationships with academic research groups, industrial R&D teams, or manufacturers in relevant markets
• Experience developing sales processes, CRM systems, or business development strategies at an early-stage company
• Compensation: Competitive base salary, plus commission, equity, and benefits.
• Health and dental insurance with up to 100% premium coverage
• 401(k) Matching
• Job Type: Full-time, in-person
• Location: Somerville, MA (Greentown Labs)
• Travel: 25-40% (domestic and international)