Manager, Optical Process Engineering - Milpitas, California, United States
$160,000 USD yearly
Originally posted 9 June 2026 by the employer.
About the role
The Optical Process Engineering Manager leads the development, optimization, and scale-up of manufacturing processes for optical components and systems. The role combines technical expertise in optics, materials, and manufacturing with leadership responsibilities for optical products including lasers, photonic devices, fiber optics, and sensors.
What you'll do
- Lead, mentor, and assign priorities for a team of process, manufacturing, and optical engineers while monitoring execution timelines. - Design, develop, and improve optical manufacturing processes, optimizing yield, throughput, cycle time, and product quality. - Support process transfer from R&D to production and establish process control methodologies and statistical monitoring systems. - Troubleshoot manufacturing issues related to optics, fiber optics alignment, length matching, and photonics assembly. - Drive root cause analysis and corrective/preventive actions (CAPA) while implementing Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma methodologies. - Manage engineering projects, budgets, schedules, resource allocation, and new product introduction (NPI) activities.
What you'll need
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Optical Engineering, Physics, Photonics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, or a related engineering discipline. - 7–12+ years of experience in optical manufacturing or process engineering. - 2–5+ years of leadership or people management experience. - Experience with high-volume manufacturing, process scale-up, and process validation. - Working knowledge of SPC (Statistical Process Control), DOE (Design of Experiments), and FMEA. - Experience with metrology and characterization tools, along with proficiency in engineering software and data analysis tools.
Nice to have
- Semiconductor or photonics industry experience. - Automation and robotics integration knowledge. - Experience with optical metrology systems, laser alignment equipment, and cleanroom equipment. - Experience with MATLAB, Python, JMP, Minitab, CAD software, and MES systems.
This role has been open 135 days — well above the 51-day median for Hardware Systems Engineering roles.
Hardware Systems Engineering · AI ML Hardware
|
Open roles in category
1017
|
Median days open
51 d
|
Median salary
$154k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, and who else is hiring
| Metric | PsiQuantum | All employers we track in this specialty (1017 roles · 102 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 17 | 1017 |
| Open roles in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family | 33 | 6298 · 144 employers |
| Median days open | 128 d | 51 d (+77 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $154k |
Who's hiring in this category
- Intel Corporation · 75 open roles · median 36 d
- KLA Corporation · 63 open roles · median 50 d
- Teradyne · 61 open roles · median 36 d
- NVIDIA · 51 open roles · median 68 d
- Applied Materials · 48 open roles · median 67 d
- AMD · 43 open roles · median 53 d
How we counted: 1017 open Hardware Systems Engineering (AI ML Hardware) roles from 102 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 24 Oct 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there — it is counted in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family row. Figures refresh nightly.