Optical Systems Engineer - Austin
$130,000 - $200,000 USD yearly
Originally posted 14 September 2026 by the employer.
About the role
This role involves the design, assembly, testing, and debugging of new optical systems and associated mechanical components.
What you'll do
- Design, prototype, and develop precision optical and optomechanical components and systems
- Build, align, and test optical systems on the bench
- Integrate off-the-shelf products such as motion stages and metrology equipment
- Perform detailed analysis and simulation, including optical performance modeling
- Work with suppliers for component and material sourcing, including custom optics fabrication
- Design lens mounting components and methods
What you'll need
- Bachelor's degree or higher in Optical Engineering, Optical Sciences, Physics, or Mechanical Engineering with demonstrated optical design work
- 3+ years of industry experience designing and implementing optical systems
- Working fluency in optical design and analysis: first-order layout, aberration theory, tolerance analysis and Monte Carlo yield prediction, and stray light analysis
- Familiarity with Zemax or similar optical simulation tools, including both sequential and non-sequential ray tracing
- Hands-on optical alignment and test experience, such as interferometry wavefront error measurement
- Mechanical 3D CAD experience
Nice to have
- Working knowledge of precision machine design fundamentals: exact-constraint design, kinematic couplings, flexures, error budgeting, structural loops, and tolerance analysis
- Structural, Thermal, Optical Performance modeling
- Experience with UV or DUV (deep ultraviolet) wavelengths, including material, coating, and contamination constraints
- Experience at an early-stage startup
- Familiarity with firmware, controls, or electrical engineering
This role has been open 37 days — well below the 51-day median for Hardware Systems Engineering roles.
Hardware Systems Engineering · AI ML Hardware
|
Open roles in category
1003
|
Median days open
51 d
|
Median salary
$155k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Atomic Semi | All employers we track in this specialty (1003 roles · 104 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 5 | 1003 |
| Open roles in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family | 19 | 6291 · 145 employers |
| Median days open | 46 d | 51 d (−5 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $155k |
Who's hiring in this category
- Intel Corporation · 72 open roles · median 34 d
- KLA Corporation · 63 open roles · median 48 d
- Teradyne · 61 open roles · median 34 d
- NVIDIA · 53 open roles · median 72 d
- Applied Materials · 51 open roles · median 70 d
- AMD · 46 open roles · median 52 d
How we counted: 1003 open Hardware Systems Engineering (AI ML Hardware) roles from 104 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 22 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.