Jobs in Ashburn, VA

About the role

We're looking for an Optics Lab Manager to own our optics lab end-to-end: the space, the equipment, the test setups, and the experiments that run on them. You'll be the hands-on implementation lead for our optics team, turning experimentation goals into lab hardware. Our optics team designs the system. You make it real on the bench. Today, lab bandwidth is the constraint on how fast we learn, and this role removes it. This person sets the pace for the team's progress in the coming months and years. This role reports to our Director of Optics. Our optics team works across three functions: design, experimentation, and fielding; you will own experimentation, the bridge between them. It is a high-autonomy position for an experienced experimentalist: we define the project goals and technical risks as an integrated team, and you derive the experimental setups that retire them. You'll implement repeatable processes while training and mentoring the growing team. You'll also sit on the project team from the earliest design discussions, proposing fast lab tests that answer design questions and feeding results straight back into the design, so we iterate quickly through testing rather than analysis alone.

What you'll bring

• 7+ years of hands-on experimental lab experience in optics, lasers, or photonics.
• Graduate research, national lab, defense, or industry experience all count.
• A B.S. in physics, optics or a related field, or equivalent hands-on optics lab experience.
• Proven ability to independently design, build, align, and troubleshoot free-space optical setups.
• Experience producing custom mounts and fixtures, either by designing them in CAD (e.g., Siemens NX) or by fabricating or sourcing them.
• Working knowledge of lasers, detectors, and core optical components (lenses, mirrors, gratings, coatings).
• Hands-on experience using spectrometers and optical spectrum analyzers (OSAs).
• Optical fiber handling and assembly experience (cleaving, splicing, terminating, and inspection).
• Understanding of thermal management for laser systems, including chillers and water- or conduction-cooled laser heads.
• Disciplined documentation habits: procedures, lab notebooks, and test records others can rely on.
• Laser safety training and hands-on practice working safely with Class 3B and Class 4 lasers under a formal laser safety program.
• This position is subject to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).