Sr Principal Optical Systems Engineer

Job Title

Sr Principal Optical Systems Engineer

Role Summary

Lead the architecture, design, modeling, integration, characterization, and validation of advanced optical microsystems and photonic test solutions. Senior individual contributor who owns complex development efforts from concept through production release and provides technical leadership across engineering, manufacturing, quality, software, and commercial teams.

Experience Level

Senior-level. This role requires substantial prior experience in optical-system development; see Education Requirements for degree/experience combinations.

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities cover system architecture, modeling, test, and production readiness.

• Define system architectures, performance specifications, interfaces, and verification plans from customer and product requirements.
• Lead development of optical systems, micro-optical components, and photonic test solutions through commercial deployment.
• Own system-level optical performance, manufacturability, reliability, cost, schedule, and scalability for optical subsystems.
• Drive technical decisions on complex, multidisciplinary programs and coordinate with Mechanical and Controls engineering for precision integration.
• Select and characterize subsystem optical components (e.g., fiber array units, optical connectors) and maintain requirements traceability.
• Develop and validate optical models (wave optics, diffraction, beam propagation, photonic-device simulation) and perform tolerance, sensitivity, and error-budget analyses.
• Correlate simulation results with laboratory measurements, production data, and field performance.
• Lead development of optical characterization methods, fixtures, automated test and data-acquisition approaches for development and manufacturing.
• Integrate metrology, image processing, and in-line monitoring for process control and performance verification.
• Use statistical analysis and data-driven methods to improve repeatability, yield, and product performance.

Requirements

Must-have skills and experience; a separate Education Requirements section lists degree and experience combinations.

• Deep expertise in wave optics, optical-system analysis, and photonic devices.
• Proven track record leading complex technical projects from concept to implementation or product release.
• Strong experience in optical modeling, simulation, tolerance analysis, and experimental correlation.
• Hands-on experience developing and validating optical test and measurement methodologies and automated test systems.
• Experience with precision optical alignment, opto-mechanical systems, packaging, and system integration.
• Programming and automation skills (Python, MATLAB, LabVIEW, or similar) for test, data acquisition, and analysis.
• Ability to communicate complex technical topics clearly to technical and nontechnical stakeholders.
• Familiarity with statistical process control, design of experiments, and data-driven yield improvement methods.

Nice-to-have:

• Experience with silicon photonics, photonic integrated circuits, or wafer-level optical testing.
• Experience using ANSYS Zemax or similar optical design tools.
• Knowledge of microfabrication, cleanroom or semiconductor process technologies, additive manufacturing.
• Experience with machine vision, image processing, automated inspection, or SPC.

Education Requirements

Degree or PhD in Optical Engineering, Physics, Photonics, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical discipline is listed. Experience combinations specified by the employer: Bachelors degree + minimum 8 years related experience; Masters degree + minimum 6 years; PhD + minimum 3 years; or equivalent practical experience. Equivalent combinations of education and experience may be considered.

About the Company

Company: FormFactor

Headquarters: Livermore, California, United States

FormFactor provides test and measurement technologies and services for the semiconductor industry across the product lifecycle - including characterization, modeling, reliability, design debug, qualification and production test. The company serves customers globally through facilities in Asia, Europe, and North America.