{"id":2956644,"url":"https://alion.io/job/voyant-photonics-sensor-verification-characterization-engineer-lidar","title":"Sensor Verification & Characterization Engineer (LiDAR)","company":{"id":690035,"name":"Voyant Photonics","domain":"voyantphotonics.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/voyantphotonics","size_band":null,"is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Ashby","truth_index":null},"role":"Hardware","role_family":"Hardware","seniority":"middle","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["New York, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":120000,"max":160000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":160000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":4,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Python","optional":false},{"name":"C++","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-10-20T21:07:07Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-20","last_verified_at":"2026-10-26T10:59:43Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":5,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":5},"description":"Sensor Verification & Characterization Engineer (LiDAR)\nAbout us:\nVoyant Photonics builds silicon photonic chips that steer and switch light at high speed. They power next generation, chip-scale FMCW LiDAR for robotics and autonomy, and optical circuit switches (OCS) for AI data centers. Based in NYC, we’re a hands-on team designing, building, and deploying frontier hardware to solve problems that matter, from how machines see to how AI scales.\nAbout the role\nWe're looking for a Sensor Verification & Characterization Engineer to join our Systems Team, reporting to the System Integration Lead. This role spans the full arc of sensor development: running early derisk experiments that shape specifications and validate our models; building verification benches for new subsystems; and characterizing full systems as they mature toward production. You'll work across multiple active programs, pushing our platform further down the product lifecycle while standing up verification for brand-new subsystems.\nWhat You'll Do:\nDesign and execute verification and characterization tests for full sensor systems and subsystems, ensuring designs meet performance requirements and building a clear picture of system behavior across operating conditions.\n\nPlan and run rapid derisk experiments for new technologies and subsystems to inform specifications and architecture decisions, often before formal requirements exist.\n\nCorrelate measurements against simulation and analytical models, feeding results back to design and modeling teams to improve predictive accuracy.\n\nTroubleshoot and debug system-level and subsystem-level issues, applying strong systems-engineering and first-principles physics reasoning to isolate root cause.\n\nGenerate clear test reports and well-formed hypotheses to share findings and drive decisions with the broader engineering team, including recommendations on specification limits and design tradeoffs.\n\nBuild, maintain, and automate test benches and lab equipment to support repeatable, efficient verification.\n\nAdapt quickly to changing requirements, shifting priorities, and new problems as our programs evolve.\n\nBring creativity to solving design challenges under real-world constraints.\n\nCollaborate closely with hardware, photonics, optics, firmware, and controls engineers throughout the system lifecycle, from bring-up through production support.\n\nWhat We're Looking For\nBS in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related field (MS or PhD a plus).\n\n4+ years of hands-on experience in system or sensor test, verification, characterization, or early-stage technology derisking - though we're open to exceptional candidates at other experience levels who show strong potential and the right attitude.\n\nHands-on experience with lab equipment (oscilloscopes, power supplies, function generators, spectrum analyzers, logic analyzers) and demonstrated experience automating test equipment.\n\nProficiency in Python for test automation and data analysis.\n\nExperience designing experiments under uncertainty: choosing what to measure, estimating measurement uncertainty, and drawing defensible conclusions from limited data.\n\nStrong systems-level thinking and the ability to apply physics and engineering fundamentals to debug complex, ambiguous problems.\n\nExcellent written and verbal communication skills - able to turn raw data and observations into clear reports and actionable hypotheses.\n\nA self-starter who can thrive with minimal formal process, and is comfortable defining and communicating structure where it doesn't yet exist.\n\nComfortable moving between quick-turn exploratory experiments and disciplined, repeatable verification.\n\nEnthusiasm for tackling new and unexpected problems, and the flexibility to pivot as priorities shift.\n\nMust be able to work on-site.\n\nNice to Have\nExperience with FMCW LiDAR, radar, or other optical/photonic sensing systems.\n\nExperience working alongside modeling or simulation teams to validate and refine physical models.\n\nExperience automating motorized stages, gimbals, or other opto-mechanical test setups.\n\nFamiliarity with C/C++ for embedded or test applications.\n\nLife at Voyant\nWe build frontier hardware & software from our lab and office in Midtown Manhattan, where optical tables, lab benches and electronics sit alongside traditional office space. Our work is hands-on and primarily in person, but we don’t run on a rigid 9-to-5. We partner with customers across time zones, so some calls start early or run late, and we adjust schedules around them. We run a high-trust, high-accountability environment: you’ll own meaningful work, move quickly and often wear more than one hat. Voyant provides catered lunch every day at HQ, and we’re a diverse group of food lovers from around the world who enjoy sharing food, culture and technical ideas around the lunch table.\nEqual Opportunity Employer\nVoyant Photonics is an equal opportunity employer committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital or partnership status, age, national origin, citizenship, veteran or military status, disability, medical condition, genetic information, caregiver status, or any other characteristic protected by law.","description_format":"text","description_chars":5360,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":4,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":[],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Earth Observation","Robotic Components & Sensors","Autonomous Driving","Optics & Photonic Components"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-20T21:40:32Z"}],"visa":[{"country":"US","licensed_sponsor":true,"evidence":"H-1B filings in 12 months: 1","filings_12m":1,"filings_prev_12m":3,"green_card_filings_12m":0,"median_offered_wage_usd":117500,"route":null,"cap_exempt":false,"checked_at":"2026-10-15T11:24:14+00:00","sources":["US Department of Labor: LCA disclosure data (H-1B, H-1B1, E-3)"],"filings_for_role_12m":1}],"liveness":{"score":90,"band":"hot","label":"Hiring now","p_open":1,"p_active":0.902,"p_room":1,"age_days":5,"expected_fill_days":23,"reasons":["conf:3","velocity","win:early"],"computed_at":"2026-10-26T05:57:25Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":160000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/voyant-photonics-sensor-verification-characterization-engineer-lidar","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/voyant-photonics-sensor-verification-characterization-engineer-lidar.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-26T11:26:51Z","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":15443,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-27T00:00:00Z"}},"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":690035},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=690035"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fvoyant-photonics-sensor-verification-characterization-engineer-lidar"},{"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%2Fvoyant-photonics-sensor-verification-characterization-engineer-lidar"},{"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%2Fvoyant-photonics-sensor-verification-characterization-engineer-lidar"},{"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/voyant-photonics-sensor-verification-characterization-engineer-lidar\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fvoyant-photonics-sensor-verification-characterization-engineer-lidar"}]}