Director, Optical Engineering

Location: Santa Clara, California, United States. Travel required up to 20% of the time. Relocation eligible.

Salary: $210,000–$289,000 per year, with potential bonus and stock award compensation.

Company

hirify.global develops and services materials engineering equipment used to manufacture semiconductor chips and advanced displays.

What you will do

• Lead a team of optical engineers across multiple semiconductor equipment programs.
• Direct complex optical system and subsystem projects, including design reviews, qualification, integration, and troubleshooting.
• Define experiments, technical data requirements, system specifications, schedules, and performance trade-offs.
• Develop optical alignment strategies, tooling, error budgets, and subsystem validation plans.
• Lead research, feasibility studies, technology demonstrations, vendor management, and customer innovation engagements.
• Mentor physicists and scientists while collaborating with engineering, marketing, suppliers, universities, consortia, and customers.

Requirements

• 20+ years of experience in optical design engineering, including 8+ years leading engineering teams.
• Experience developing high-performance optical systems for the semiconductor industry and working in a product development environment.
• Expertise across the full design cycle, from specifications and design through supplier support, verification, and integration.
• Strong knowledge of optical system evaluation, performance limits, manufacturability, alignment, tooling, and error-budget development.
• Ability to translate customer and market requirements into engineering specifications and make decisions using incomplete multidisciplinary data.
• Exceptional leadership, communication, mentoring, stakeholder management, and complex problem-solving skills.

Culture & Benefits

• Supportive environment focused on learning, professional development, and innovative engineering solutions.
• Comprehensive employee benefits supporting health, wellbeing, and personal and professional growth.
• Regular interaction with senior leaders, external customers, suppliers, universities, and industry consortia.
• Regular employment with potential participation in bonus and stock award programs, as applicable.