Optical Manufacturing Automation Engineer

Job Title

Optical Manufacturing Automation Engineer

Role Summary

Design, deploy, and scale automation systems for manufacturing silicon photonics and optical transceiver products. Collaborate with manufacturing, process, test, quality, and software teams to enable new product introduction (NPI) and high-volume production through equipment integration, test automation, data collection, and analytics.

Experience Level

Senior — requires approximately 7+ years of relevant experience in manufacturing automation, test automation, or industrial software development.

Responsibilities

Key duties include building automation frameworks, integrating equipment, and improving production throughput, yield, and quality.

• Develop and deploy automation solutions across prototype to high-volume manufacturing for optical transceivers and silicon photonics.
• Design, develop, and maintain control software, automation frameworks, and test station applications.
• Integrate manufacturing equipment, optical test systems, robotics, motion controllers, and factory automation tools.
• Automate manual production activities to reduce cycle time and operator dependency and improve repeatability.
• Implement automated data collection, traceability, SPC, yield analysis, and production reporting.
• Create manufacturing tools for execution, equipment monitoring, and production performance tracking.
• Lead automation efforts for NPI and production ramp to ensure systems are production-ready at launch.
• Implement automated validation, calibration, and qualification processes to improve quality and consistency.
• Support troubleshooting and root-cause investigations for equipment, automation systems, and production software.
• Produce technical documentation, operating procedures, validation plans, and training materials for automation systems.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and experience.

• 7+ years of hands-on experience in manufacturing automation, test automation, or industrial software development supporting optical transceiver, silicon photonics, semiconductor, advanced packaging, or high-volume electronics environments.
• Strong software development skills with Python, C#, C++, LabVIEW, or similar languages for automation and equipment integration.
• Proven experience integrating manufacturing equipment, automated test systems, robotics, and motion control using standard industrial protocols.
• Practical knowledge of manufacturing automation architectures, industrial communication protocols, and equipment integration methodologies.
• Experience with manufacturing data systems, database development, and production analytics (SQL, NoSQL or equivalent).
• Experience implementing process monitoring, statistical process control (SPC), yield analysis, and reporting solutions.
• Familiarity with MES/ERP systems, factory automation platforms, and production traceability requirements.
• Experience with source control and software lifecycle processes and strong software quality practices (validation, regression testing, release management, change control).
• Experience supporting NPI, manufacturing scale-up, and production ramp activities; strong troubleshooting and analytical skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, work cross-functionally, and communicate effectively across global teams; international travel may be required.

Nice-to-have:

• Experience with automated optical alignment, calibration systems, and high-speed optical testing.
• Knowledge of reliability, compliance, and QMS requirements for manufacturing software.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Software Engineering, Physics, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical field; role expects ~7+ years of relevant experience in manufacturing automation, test automation, or industrial software development.

About the Company

Company: Lumilens

Headquarters: San Jose, CA, USA

Lumilens develops integrated photonics and optical interconnect solutions for high-speed data communication and chip-to-chip interfaces, focusing on optical front-end hardware and co-packaged optics for advanced semiconductor systems.