Job Responsibilities
- Align, tune, and troubleshoot optical and laser systems — including diode- and fiber-based lasers/amplifiers and nonlinear optical systems — to keep quantum computing hardware running reliably
- Characterize, phase-lock, and optimize laser and nonlinear optical systems to improve performance and stability
- Design and model nonlinear optical and laser/amplifier systems for new hardware builds and system upgrades
- Provide technical expertise to laser and optical projects across the team, with the goal of maximizing performance and robustness
- Take, plot, analyze, fit, and interpret data from optical testing experiments to guide design and troubleshooting decisions
- Gather project requirements from stakeholders, turn them into action plans, and keep the team on schedule with proper prioritization
- Create and maintain engineering change documentation; work from assembly drawings, schematics, wiring diagrams, and other written, visual, and oral instructions
- Collaborate day-to-day with experimental physicists, hardware engineers, and software engineers to integrate laser systems into the broader quantum computing platform
- Report progress, risks, and technical findings to the Laser Engineering Manager, and contribute to the team's roadmap for scaling laser systems
Experience & Education
- Bachelor's degree in Physics, Optics, Chemistry, Engineering, or a related field
- Minimum 2+ years of experience (advanced degree inclusive) using and maintaining optical, opto-mechanical, and/or laser systems
Required Qualifications
- Temperamentally suited to work at a fast-growing startup: self-motivated, humble, driven, collaborative, and comfortable with ambiguity
- Ability to effectively communicate and collaborate with a diverse team of experimental physicists, hardware engineers, and software engineers
- Hands-on experience aligning optical elements in accordance with documented designs
- Experience with current state-of-the-art lasers/amplifiers (e.g., diode and fiber-based) and nonlinear optical materials, including characterization, phase-locking, and optimization of laser and nonlinear optical systems, plus design and modeling experience for nonlinear optical and laser/amplifier systems
- Experience with data analysis: taking, plotting, analyzing, fitting, and interpreting data from optical testing experiments
- Experience with engineering change documentation; ability to work from assembly drawings, schematics, wiring diagrams, sketches, and other written, visual, and oral instructions
Preferred Qualifications
- Familiarity with Python and Git software version control
- Familiarity with Zemax, Onshape, and/or SolidWorks/CAD for designing optical and optomechanical systems
