Mechanical Engineer / Senior Mechanical Engineer, Opto-Mechanics

Qualifications • Design mirror mounts, window and lens mounts, opto-mechanical assemblies, optical benches, and structural supports for deep-UV, high-energy laser beam transport and diagnostics.

• Develop requirements with optical, controls, and systems engineers; run trade studies and document design decisions.

• Analyze designs with hand calculations and FEA (static, modal, thermal) to understand how mount stress, thermal gradients, gravity, and vibration affect optical surface figure and alignment.

• Produce detailed models in NX, GD&T drawings per ASME Y14.5, and complete drawing packages; release and control them through engineering change.

• Specify materials, finishes, and purchased components (stages, actuators, flexures, fasteners, vacuum hardware); work with machining and fabrication suppliers, and inspect and qualify hardware on receipt.

• Build tolerance stack-ups and connect mechanical tolerances to optical sensitivity budgets.

• Create and maintain interface control documents between optical mounts and adjacent mechanical structures.

• Assemble, align, and test opto-mechanical hardware in the lab and cleanroom, including bonding of optics and implementation of alignment references; develop and execute test plans.

• Support integration and troubleshooting on the laser system floor and feed lessons learned back into the design.

• Present work at design reviews and maintain clear technical documentation.

• At the senior level: lead the design of subsystems end to end, own interfaces with other disciplines, and mentor junior engineers.

Qualifications • Education : B.S. in Mechanical Engineering or a related field.

• Experience : 4+ years of professional mechanical design experience with hardware you have designed built and put into use.

• Sound mechanical design fundamentals: statics, strength of materials, stiffness and deflection, thermal expansion, and materials selection.

• Proficiency in 3D CAD (NX preferred; SolidWorks or Creo acceptable) and in creating manufacturing drawings using GD&T per ASME Y14.5.

• Ability to build tolerance stack-ups and to verify designs with hand calculations.

• Familiarity with machining, sheet metal, and welding processes and with design for manufacturability and assembly.

• Hands-on aptitude: comfortable assembling, measuring, and testing hardware, and eager to spend time in the lab.

• Hands-on experience designing precision opto-mechanical hardware: kinematic or flexure mounts, optical benches, or alignment mechanisms.

• Solid FEA skills (static, modal, thermal) and experience using analysis to drive design decisions and validate them against test.

• Experience creating and maintaining interface control documents.

• Experience specifying and managing hardware through suppliers, and guiding or mentoring other engineers.

• Strong written and verbal communication, attention to detail, and the ability to work in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary team.

Desired • M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Optical Engineering, or a related field.

• Experience with STOP (structural-thermal-optical performance) analysis and with modeling tools such as Ansys, Abaqus, or Nastran.

• Experience with cleanroom procedures, high-vacuum hardware, or high-voltage environments.

• Experience with active mount pointing and alignment recovery, including slow and fast steering mirrors.

• Experience with high-energy laser systems, particularly in the deep UV.

• Familiarity with thermal management of optical assemblies.

• Experience with laser, telescope, lithography, or precision instrument opto-mechanics.