Senior Optical Engineer

The Hardware Engineering Group at QuEra Computing is seeking strong candidates for a Senior Optical Engineer to serve as a senior individual contributor to the company’s mission of building state-of-the-art, manufacturable, and deployable neutral atom quantum computers. The Hardware Engineering Group plays a crucial role in accelerating the company’s technology leadership and translating the company’s scientific breakthroughs into products delivered to customers. To accomplish this mission, we are looking to hire a candidate with graduate-level education in optics, optical engineering, or applied physics with industry experience in an enterprise engineering environment. The ideal candidate will combine a deep, fundamental understanding of several areas of optics, design, and engineering. Although candidates with a Ph.D. in physics may be considered, applicants should ensure they have sufficient professional experience beyond academia in an enterprise engineering environment to establish themselves independently as a senior-level engineer.

Key Job Responsibilities

• Work with physicists to understand requirements and architect optical systems, sub-systems, modules, and components to support QuEra’s neutral atom computers through the full development lifecycle (R&D, productization, maintenance, and beyond).
• Advance state-of-the-art engineering practices at QuEra through independent research, problem-solving, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Coordinate closely with the R&D/science team to enable cutting-edge R&D and translate scientific advances into the next generation of products.
• Troubleshoot technical issues at company headquarters and off-site installations at customer locations (in coordination with local support team).

Qualifications

• B.S. in optics, optical engineering, applied physics, or a closely related field (Ph.D. or M.S. preferred).

• 5-8 years work experience designing optical and opto-mechanical systems in a non-academic (industry, national lab, FFRDC or similar) environment with enterprise engineering practices.

• Excellent system-level design skills including Zemax simulation skills, COMSOL simulation skills, and CAD design skills, etc.

• Deep domain expertise in the areas of

• Free-space optics (free-space and fiber)

• Modulators

• Electronics

• Lasers

• Optical system characterization and testing

• Ultra-high vacuum