{"id":1515933,"url":"https://alion.io/job/workinoptics-applications-engineer-ii","title":"Applications Engineer II","company":{"id":1983057,"name":"WorkinOptics","domain":"workinoptics.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/workinoptics","size_band":"51-200","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":true,"listed_via":"workinoptics.com","ats_vendor":"Schema","truth_index":null},"role":"Industrial Engineering","role_family":"Industrial Engineering","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":["Lafayette, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":93000,"max":108000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":108000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":3,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Microsoft Office","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-09-02T15:45:12Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-09-02","last_verified_at":"2026-09-02T15:45:12Z","board_verified":false,"closed_at":null,"days_open":39,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":39},"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 Applications Engineer II role exists to translate customer needs and market insights into well-defined product requirements, primarily for our growing lab electronics portfolio, while ensuring new products deliver clear performance advantages. This position bridges engineering, sales, and customers by testing and validating prototypes, demonstrating product capabilities through demos and technical content, and capturing real-world feedback to guide continuous improvement. The role also ensures responsive, organized customer support by managing technical inquiries and maintaining accurate records, helping drive both product innovation and customer success. The position is in Lafayette, CO but will also require travel to tradeshows or to other Thorlabs locations from time to time.\nDevelop and document product requirements for new lab electronics products based on customer needs, market trends, and application insights.\nEvaluate and benchmark prototype designs against competitive market solutions\nPlan and execute structured testing of prototypes and translate results into actionable engineering feedback.\nDesign and build compelling product demonstrations for tradeshows, customer visits, and internal reviews.\nAuthor technical whitepapers, application notes, and performance reports that clearly communicate product capabilities and advantages.\nGather customer feedback, application challenges, and new product ideas through direct engagement at trade shows.\nCoordinate and deliver timely, high-quality responses to customer technical inquiries, ensuring accurate documentation in CRM systems.\nCollaborate cross-functionally with engineering, marketing, and sales to align product requirements, messaging, and go-to-market activities.\nMaintain accurate records of customer engagements, opportunities, and technical issues within ERP/CRM tools to support business visibility.\nDevelop application and support documentation to enable effective product adoption and customer success.\nThe company retains the right to change or assign other duties to this position.\nThis position requires candidates to be a U.S. Person under U.S export control regulations.\nRequirementsExperience:\nMinimum 3 years of experience in a similar position, or\nExperience in a photonics laboratory environment (essential)\nExperience building optical and electronic setups (essential)\nExperience in a customer-facing position (desired)\nEducation:\nBS, MS, or PhD in related field or equivalent work experience\nSpecialized Knowledge and Skills:\nDeep experience with a variety of optics lab equipment, including spectrum analyzers, feedback electronics, lock-in-amplifiers, and digital data acquisition.\nStrong written and verbal communication skills\nExcellent organizational skills and ability to multiplex tasks.\nScientific coding for instrument control desired\nStrong problem-solving capability\nStrong computer skills with MS Office, ERP, CRM systems\nAbility to work well in an interactive environment.\nAbility to manage many simultaneous requests.\nThe estimated pay range for this role is $93,900 - $ 108,000 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 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":4568,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":3,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":true},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Life insurance","Vision insurance"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Higher Education","Optical Communications","Job Boards & Aggregators"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-30T09:29:13Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":26,"band":"fade","label":"Fading","p_open":0.6,"p_active":0.778,"p_room":0.55,"age_days":39,"expected_fill_days":35,"reasons":["seen:39","velocity","win:tail"],"computed_at":"2026-10-12T06:55:09Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":108000,"is_top_pay":false},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/workinoptics-applications-engineer-ii","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/workinoptics-applications-engineer-ii.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-12T10:05:02Z","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":15420,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-13T00:00:00Z"}},"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":1983057},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=1983057"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fworkinoptics-applications-engineer-ii"},{"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%2Fworkinoptics-applications-engineer-ii"},{"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%2Fworkinoptics-applications-engineer-ii"},{"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/workinoptics-applications-engineer-ii\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fworkinoptics-applications-engineer-ii"}]}