Staff Optical Engineer - Mountain View, CA, United States
$181,300 - $245,300 USD yearly
Originally posted 4 December 2025 by the employer. Relisted by the employer on 28 October 2026.
About the role
Aeva is seeking a Staff Optical Engineer to lead the design, development, and validation of optical sub-components and systems for coherent LiDAR technology. You will set technical direction, mentor junior engineers, and influence architectural decisions across multiple programs.
What you'll do
- Lead modeling and simulation of optical systems, including beam propagation, tolerance analysis, stray-light and scattering analysis, polarization effects, and sensitivity studies. - Perform and review optical simulations to evaluate architectures, predict performance, and identify design trade-offs. - Conduct system-level analyses to ensure manufacturability, robustness, and alignment with performance requirements. - Develop requirements and specifications for optical components based on detailed analytical insights. - Provide cross-functional technical guidance to photonics, mechanical, and systems engineering teams. - Mentor junior engineers in modeling methodologies, simulation workflows, and interpretation of results.
What you'll need
- Bachelor’s degree with 10+ years of relevant experience, Master’s degree with 6+ years, PhD with 3+ years, or equivalent experience. - Demonstrated experience driving optical system designs from proof-of-concept through high-volume production. - Strong proficiency with physical/wave/Fourier optics principles, as well as modeling and scripting tools such as ZEMAX, Code V, FRED, or similar. - Expertise in tolerance analysis, stray-light, and scattering analysis. - Experience with precision optical, micro-optic, and/or fiber-optic components. - Hands-on laboratory skills for setting up, testing, validating, and troubleshooting optical, fiber-optic, and opto-mechanical subsystems. - Knowledge of optical fabrication processes (molded, polished, diamond-turned) as well as micro-structured components.
Skills: optical components, optical modeling, ZEMAX, Code V, FRED, tolerance analysis, stray-light, scattering analysis, precision optical, micro-optic
This role has been open 193 days — well above the 82-day median for Optical/Photonics IC Design roles.
Optical/Photonics IC Design · Photonics
|
Open roles in category
137
|
Median days open
82 d
|
Median salary
$195k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Aeva Technologies | All employers we track in this specialty (137 roles · 30 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 4 | 137 |
| Median days open | 176 d | 82 d (+94 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $195k |
Skills observed across this category: optical components, optical modeling, ZEMAX, Code V, FRED, tolerance analysis
Who's hiring in this category
- Coherent Corp · 18 open roles · median 95 d
- GlobalFoundries · 16 open roles · median 84 d
- Lightmatter · 14 open roles · median 103 d
- Marvell Technology · 10 open roles · median 40 d
- Lumentum · 9 open roles · median 85 d
- PsiQuantum · 8 open roles · median 139 d
How we counted: 137 open Optical/Photonics IC Design (Photonics) roles from 30 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 28 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. Figures refresh nightly.