{"id":3614199,"url":"https://alion.io/job/thorlabs-photonics-engineer-i-3","title":"Photonics Engineer I","company":{"id":6560,"name":"Thorlabs","domain":"thorlabs.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/thorlabs","size_band":"1001-5000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Workable","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":80,"open_postings":20,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.8,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":33,"computed_at":"2026-11-05T05:54:30Z"}},"role":"Semiconductors","role_family":"Semiconductors","seniority":"junior","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Ann Arbor, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":84000,"max":100000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":100000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"MATLAB","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false},{"name":"Microsoft Office","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-11-02T15:41:23Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-11-02","last_verified_at":"2026-11-05T18:16:15Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":3,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":3},"description":"At Thorlabs, we design and manufacture components, instruments, and systems that transform the world by identifying, enabling, and accelerating key photonics (i.e., light-based) technologies. Backed by a dedicated workforce of more than 3,000 employees worldwide, Thorlabs contributes to cutting-edge research and real-world innovation.\nWhether you're early in your career or bringing years of experience, you’ll find opportunities to grow, take ownership, and make meaningful contributions from day one. We know every employee brings unique talents and perspectives that fuel our success, and we seek driven individuals who are excited to make an impact in a fun, fast-moving culture.\nThe Ultrafast Opto-electronics group (UFO), located in Ann Arbor, MI, is a business unit of Thorlabs chartered to develop high-speed photonic components and instrumentation. Photonics Engineers conceptualize, design, test, and release opto-electronic (OE) and photonic products for the UFO group.\nAssist in OE/photonic design projects under guidance from senior engineering staff.\nPrototype and test OE/photonic circuits of varying complexity under guidance from senior engineering staff.\nVerify OE/photonic product specifications via testing and statistical analysis.\nInteract with suppliers to identify, specify & procure external OE/photonic components.\nSupport the transfer of OE/photonic products from development to production under guidance from senior engineering staff.\nWrite assembly & test procedures for new OE/photonic products and processes.\nProvide training to manufacturing staff on assembly and test procedures for OE/photonic products.\nSupport troubleshooting and resolution of OE/photonic system issues with oversight from senior engineering staff.\nAssist with resolution of end-of-life OE/photonic component issues under guidance from senior engineering staff.\nSupport the continuous improvement of manufacturing and functional test processes for OE/photonic products under guidance from senior engineering staff.\nEvaluate non-conformance issues in OE/photonic products under the guidance of senior engineering staff to determine root causes.\nInteract with other Thorlabs business units for product development.\nProvide technical support to Sales and Marketing teams.\nRequirements\nExperience:\n* Entry Level to 4 years of experience in OE/photonic product design, development, and implementation.\nEducation:\n* BS (or higher) in Photonics, Optics, Physics, EE, or related field.\nSpecialized Knowledge and Skills:\nMust have basic understanding of (or limited experience with) OE/photonic device development.\nMust have basic understanding of (or limited experience with) ultra-fast time & high frequency domain testing (e.g. 100GHz) using VNAs, Spectrum Analyzers, TDRs, Sampling Oscilloscope, etc.\nMust have basic understanding of (or limited experience with) optical/photonics design software (e.g. Lumerical/RSoft, Zemax, QUADOA).\nMust have basic understanding of (or limited experience with) data handling and analysis tools (e.g. R, MATLAB, Python).\nMust have the ability to design and create custom test and data collection systems (e.g. Python, MATLAB, LabView).\nMust have strong problem solving and design of experiment (DOE) skills.\nMust be able to work in an OE laboratory environment with lasers, optical fibers, high-precision motorized stages, microscopes, and various pieces of micro-assembly equipment.\nBasic understanding of the design fundamentals of unamplified and amplified photodetector devices is a plus.\nBasic understanding of high-speed optical switching, modulation, and their enabling technologies (e.g. - electro-optic, electro-absorption, acousto optic, gain-switching, Q-switching) is a plus.\nProficiency with optical measurement techniques (e.g. Optical Spectrometers, Beam Profilers, and Optical Power Meters) is preferred.\nMust be proficient in MS Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc.).\nMust be detail oriented, highly organized, and able to document work.\nMust have excellent written and oral communication skills.\nMust be comfortable in a fast-paced, start-up type environment requiring a self-motivated individual.\nThis is an in-office position located in Ann Arbor, MI. Occasional travel (less than 20%) may be required\nThe estimated pay range for this role is $84,000 - $ 100,000 annually\nThorlabs values its diverse environment and is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified individuals will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identify or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age or veteran status. Job descriptions are not intended as and do not create employment contracts. The organization maintains its status as an at-will employer. Employees can be terminated for any reason not prohibited by law.\nBenefits\n Thorlabs offers a complete benefits package that includes medical, dental and vision insurance, company paid life insurance, a generous PTO package, a 401(k) plan, and tuition reimbursement just to name a few.","description_format":"text","description_chars":5103,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":null,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Life insurance","Vision insurance"],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Optical Communications","Lasers & Laser Systems","Test & Measurement Instruments","Optics & Photonic Components"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-11-02T15:41:23Z"}],"visa":[{"country":"US","licensed_sponsor":true,"evidence":"H-1B filings in 12 months: 6","filings_12m":6,"filings_prev_12m":8,"green_card_filings_12m":0,"median_offered_wage_usd":82500,"route":null,"cap_exempt":false,"checked_at":"2026-10-29T16:27:21+00:00","sources":["US Department of Labor: LCA disclosure data (H-1B, H-1B1, E-3)"],"filings_for_role_12m":0}],"liveness":{"score":63,"band":"ok","label":"Likely open","p_open":1,"p_active":0.632,"p_room":1,"age_days":2,"expected_fill_days":33,"reasons":["conf:3","stale_co","velocity","win:early","comp:junior"],"computed_at":"2026-11-05T05:54:30Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":100000,"is_top_pay":false},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/thorlabs-photonics-engineer-i-3","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/thorlabs-photonics-engineer-i-3.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-11-05T20:32:44Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":19,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-11-06T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":6560},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=6560"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fthorlabs-photonics-engineer-i-3"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fthorlabs-photonics-engineer-i-3"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fthorlabs-photonics-engineer-i-3"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/thorlabs-photonics-engineer-i-3\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fthorlabs-photonics-engineer-i-3"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":3614199}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"thorlabs.com","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":3614199},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); https://alion.io/mcp with an Alion account has everything. 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