Adaptive Optics Engineer/Scientist

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

Salary: $120,000–$180,000 per year

Company

hirify.global develops inertial fusion energy technology and advanced laser architectures to deliver clean fusion power and support global decarbonization.

What you will do

• Design, model, and implement high-performance adaptive optics systems for high-energy laser platforms.
• Develop optimization routines for adaptive optics control loops.
• Coordinate with vendors on next-generation adaptive optics platforms, including deformable mirrors and wavefront sensors.
• Align, calibrate, integrate, and operate adaptive optics hardware on laser systems.
• Characterize optical environments and define adaptive optics system requirements.
• Develop and improve wave-optics propagation code for near-field and far-field laser modeling.

Requirements

• B.S. degree in optical science, optical engineering, or a related field.
• At least 5 years of optical science or engineering experience directly related to adaptive optics systems.
• Experience working across optical, opto-mechanical, software, and controls engineering.
• Experience developing adaptive optics systems using wavefront sensors, deformable mirrors, and optimization methods.
• Experience with high-fidelity physical wave-optics propagation, optical subsystem integration, and alignment.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident, or lawfully admitted refugee or asylee.

Nice to have

• M.S. or Ph.D. in optical engineering, optical science, or a related field.
• 10+ years of directly related adaptive optics experience.
• Experience modeling turbulence, Fourier-based beam propagation, beam pointing stabilization, deep-UV high-energy optical systems, and system-to-component adaptive optics requirements.

Culture & Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage, plus basic and supplemental life insurance.
• Short- and long-term disability coverage and paid parental leave.
• 401(k) with company matching of up to 6% and employee equity eligibility.
• Flexible paid time off, paid sick time, 13 company-paid holidays, and an annual paid company shutdown.
• Equal opportunity workplace focused on trust, equality, teamwork, and diversity.