Senior Optical Assembly & Alignment Engineer

Responsibilities

- Build optical breadboards from released layouts, drawings, bills of materials, and instructions; verify optic identity, coating orientation, mount placement, and assembly references.

- Install and align lenses, mirrors, beam splitters, polarization optics, and fiber-coupling assemblies to establish specified free-space beam paths, geometry, and subsystem interfaces.

- Measure throughput, power, beam profile, polarization, and coupling efficiency; use wavefront sensors or interferometers when required by the approved subsystem verification procedure.

- Diagnose beam clipping, optical loss, pointing drift, polarization errors, and mount-induced alignment changes; document the cause and perform only approved adjustment or rework.

- Establish pre-bond alignment and fixturing with Optical Bonding Technicians; compare alignment and optical measurements after curing before accepting the assembly.

- Inspect and clean optical surfaces using approved methods; protect sensitive coatings and maintain clean-handling and laser-safety practices through build, test, storage, and delivery.

- Combine optical-board assemblies into the assigned subsystem and execute approved verification steps; subsystem optical tests remain separate from later testing with atoms.

- Record component identifiers, revisions, alignment references, instrument identity, raw measurements, and completed steps in the subsystem traveler and release package.

- Capture first-of-a-kind alignment methods alongside Engineering; propose repeatable sequences, fixtures, and access improvements using measured rework and repeatability data.

- Deliver verified assemblies and alignment records to System Integration & Test; diagnose subsystem issues identified during integration while preserving the approved configuration.

Experience & Education

- BS in optics, optical engineering, physics, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, or a related discipline; advanced degree preferred.

- 7+ years of hands-on optical assembly, free-space alignment, fiber coupling, and characterization of precision laser or photonics hardware.

- Experience building from controlled optical layouts and recording repeatable measurements for subsystem acceptance.

- Experience with neutral-atom quantum-computer optics, atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) laboratory systems, or precision scientific instrumentation preferred.