Staff Optical Engineer - US - CA - San Jose, United States
$186,000 - $240,000 USD yearly
Originally posted 29 July 2026 by the employer.
Design optical systems for lithography and laser annealing tools.
About the role
This is a hands-on position responsible for the design and experimental verification of complex optical parts and assemblies for lithography and laser annealing tools. This role involves designing and implementing complex imaging, illumination, and high-power beamforming and beam delivery systems.
What you'll do
- Work on projects from concept development through delivery to manufacturing.
- Provide tolerance analysis for optical designs.
- Develop test and verification procedures; take part in testing and experimentation.
- Assist Manufacturing during the manufacture of prototype assemblies, and develop manufacturing processes and work instructions.
- Support operations to resolve supplier and production problems.
- Create optical designs for new product development of lithography and laser annealing tools.
- Create design concepts in support of advanced R&D investigations.
What you'll need
- MS degree with 8+ years of experience in Optical Engineering or related field; or a PhD degree with 5+ years of related experience.
- Experience with ZEMAX.
- Experience developing optical systems for lithography, high power laser-based systems, infrared systems, and/or imaging systems.
- Expert level knowledge of geometrical and physical optics, optical measurements. Hands on lab experience.
- Knowledge of optical fabrication methods.
- Familiarity with refractive and reflective optical system design, and coherent and incoherent sources.
- Experience with imaging and illumination system design and analysis.
- Proficient in CODE V, ZEMAX, FRED.
Nice to have
- Working knowledge of MATLAB or MATHCAD preferred.
Skills: optical design, lithography, laser annealing tools, ZEMAX, optical measurements
This role has been open 81 days — slightly above the 80-day median for Semiconductor Equipment Engineering roles.
Semiconductor Equipment Engineering · Lithography Systems
|
Open roles in category
52
|
Median days open
80 d
|
Median salary
$135k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Veeco Instruments | All employers we track in this specialty (52 roles · 13 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 1 | 52 |
| Open roles in the wider Process, Fab & Equipment family | 84 | 9897 · 109 employers |
| Median days open | 81 d | 80 d (+1 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $135k |
Skills observed across this category: optical design, lithography, laser annealing tools, ZEMAX, optical measurements
Who's hiring in this category
- ASML · 27 open roles · median 52 d
- Applied Materials · 4 open roles · median 107 d
- GlobalFoundries · 4 open roles · median 117 d
- Micron Technology · 4 open roles · median 160 d
- Onto Innovation · 3 open roles · median 87 d
- NXP Semiconductors · 2 open roles · median 115 d
How we counted: 52 open Semiconductor Equipment Engineering (Lithography Systems) roles from 13 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 18 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 Process, Fab & Equipment family row. Figures refresh nightly.