Optical Engineer (UV Laser Systems)

Location: On-site at the headquarters in Denver, Colorado, United States

Company

hirify.global develops inertial fusion energy systems and laser architectures intended to accelerate the deployment of clean fusion power plants.

What you will do

• Own the optical architecture and performance of laser beamlines and diagnostic systems from first-principles calculations through detailed design.
• Develop beamline and diagnostic analyses, including alignment design, tolerancing, and component specifications.
• Set optical performance requirements and collaborate with opto-mechanical, electrical, and mechanical engineers on mount and system design.
• Design active beam control systems, including adaptive optics and tracking systems.
• Source optical components, coatings, cameras, and beam-control hardware while maintaining supplier relationships.
• Lead integration, precision alignment, metrology, and testing for laser and diagnostic systems.

Requirements

• B.S. degree in optical engineering or a related field.
• 5+ years of optical engineering experience and ownership of an optical system or subsystem from concept through hardware.
• Proficiency with optical design software such as FRED and Zemax, and computational tools such as MATLAB or Python.
• Experience with optical tolerancing, statistical performance analysis, optical design optimization, system integration, and precision alignment.
• Experience with optical metrology, including interferometric surface measurements, scatter characterization, and part inspection.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident, or lawfully admitted refugee or asylee.

Nice to have

• Experience designing adaptive optics and beam-pointing stabilization systems.
• Experience with high-fidelity physical wave-optics propagation in near and far fields.
• Experience with high-energy optical systems operating in the deep UV.

Culture & Benefits

• Full-time, on-site work with a small, technically focused team.
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Basic and supplemental life insurance and short- and long-term disability coverage.
• Paid parental leave, paid sick time, 13 company-paid holidays, and an annual paid company shutdown.
• Flexible paid time off and a 401(k) with a company match of up to 6%.
• Eligible employees may receive equity in the company.