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Xcimer Energy is seeking a Principal Electro-Optical/Adaptive Optics Engineer to serve as the technical lead for adaptive optics systems on fusion beamlines. This is a senior technical role spanning requirements definition, system modeling, vendor engagement, integration, testing, and commissioning of adaptive optics and wavefront control systems.
Key Responsibilities:
Requirements & Performance Modeling: Own adaptive optics and wavefront control requirements from top-level beam quality objectives down to component specifications. Build and maintain end-to-end performance models including wave-optics propagation, far-field irradiance prediction, and comprehensive wavefront error budgets (fitting, temporal, measurement, calibration, non-common-path terms). Develop disturbance models accounting for beam path turbulence, thermal aberrations, static figure error, opto-mechanical jitter, and pulse-to-pulse repeatability. Set requirements on deformable mirrors, wavefront sensors, reconstructors, and real-time control loops. Lead trade studies on correction topology, sensing approach, sampling/control rates, and identify physics-limited versus hardware-limited performance.
Vendor Engagement & Procurement: Lead technical engagement with commercial and research vendors on adaptive optics components and subsystems. Own the technical side of procurements and development subcontracts, including statements of work, specification negotiation, vendor technical reviews, and acceptance testing. Plan and defend resource needs, make build-versus-buy decisions, oversee design reviews and factory acceptance tests, and serve as primary technical interface for resolving supplier issues.
Integration, Test & Commissioning: Define proof-of-concept and risk-reduction experiments to settle open technical questions. Direct optical engineers, laser scientists, and technicians in running experiments and interpreting results. Define and review laboratory and in-situ test plans validating performance and closed-loop operation. Provide guidance on assembly, integration, and test within the beamline environment, including contamination control for deep-UV, high-fluence optics. Coordinate with beamline, controls, and laser system teams on system integration and interface definition. Support commissioning and transition to reliable operations.
Technical Stewardship & Group Growth: Author and defend design review artifacts. Establish technical standards, documentation practices, and development workflows for the adaptive optics group. Mentor and guide engineers and scientists on adaptive optics and wavefront control. Participate in hiring and onboarding as the group expands. Lead technology development initiatives.
Requirements:
- Advanced degree (Master's or PhD) in optics, physics, electrical engineering, or closely related field
- 8+ years of optical science/engineering experience, including 5+ years in adaptive optics, wavefront sensing and control, or closely related high-speed optical control systems
- Track record of delivering adaptive optics or beam control systems in industry, national labs, or observatories
- Demonstrated ownership of adaptive optics requirements and performance budgets on a real program, including wavefront error budget allocation across subsystems
- Demonstrated use of wave-optics propagation codes for system performance prediction, with ability to state and defend model limitations
- Hands-on working knowledge of deformable mirrors, wavefront sensors, and high-bandwidth feedback control sufficient to specify, review vendor implementations, and judge acceptance
- Ability to set and audit closed-loop control requirements: bandwidth, latency, sampling, reconstructor approach, disturbance rejection
- Experience working directly with external vendors on custom optical and electro-optical systems, including specification negotiation and design reviews
- Experience directing technical work of other engineers, scientists, or technicians through substantial tasks
- Familiarity with high-energy or high-intensity laser systems and constraints on optics (damage threshold, thermal management)
- Advanced verbal and written communication skills including technical documentation, requirements definition, and presentations
- Willingness to travel to vendor facilities
- Must be U.S. citizen, national, permanent resident (Green Card), or lawfully admitted as refugee/asylee
Desired Qualifications:
- Experience with directed energy or high-power/high-intensity laser platforms
- Experience delivering custom adaptive optics system from concept through commissioning
- Experience with high-energy optics in deep UV, including laser-induced damage, coating specification, contamination control
- Experience with adaptive optics on large-aperture, high-energy pulsed beamlines
- Experience with pulsed laser systems and characterization diagnostics
- Experience with wavefront diagnostics beyond Shack-Hartmann (interferometry, phase retrieval, curvature/pyramid sensing)
- Experience with predictive/optimal control, system identification, or reconstructor optimization on real loops
- Familiarity with real-time software, FPGA-based control, or low-latency computing architectures
- Experience with beam pointing and jitter control, opto-mechanical jitter analysis, vibration isolation
- Familiarity with STOP (structural-thermal-optical performance) analysis
- Experience with turbulence characterization in enclosed beam paths
- Experience mentoring engineers or leading technical teams and building technical disciplines
- Experience in multidisciplinary research laser facilities (national laboratories)
- Experience in laboratory and operational environments demanding high reliability and uptime
- Experience writing scientific papers or program technical reports
