Lead Optical Design Engineer

Lead Optical Design Engineer Overview

This role is for a senior optical design specialist who will take the lead on optical architecture for an innovative startup based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The position focuses on advanced optical system design, with responsibility for shaping the technical direction of transmission and projection optics. The work spans simulation, modelling, and system validation, and requires someone who can own optical design from the earliest concept stages through to testing and verification in a complex environment.

What you will do

• Own the design leadership for transmission and projection optical systems, setting the architecture and guiding the overall technical approach.
• Carry out detailed simulation and modelling work to support optical design decisions and system performance.
• Validate optical systems end to end, ensuring the design performs correctly in real-world conditions.
• Build models that describe how coherent light travels through systems made up of multiple optical elements.
• Assess optical aberrations and other factors that limit performance, then develop ways to reduce their impact.
• Set tolerances for the design and determine the most suitable simulation methods to use.
• Define testing and validation frameworks that can be used to prove the optical design meets requirements.
• Work across teams involved in simulation, hardware, and systems engineering to keep the design aligned with wider product goals.
• Provide technical leadership and make key decisions that steer the direction of the optical system design.

What the client is looking for

• Experience working as an optical designer, with strong practical knowledge of Zemax OpticStudio.
• Proven background in designing projection optics and holography-based systems.
• Ability to model light propagation through diffractive optical elements.
• Understanding of both ray-tracing methods and electromagnetic or FDTD-based modelling approaches.
• Evidence of designing optical components through the full development lifecycle.
• Experience with design for manufacture, including tolerancing and selecting suitable materials.
• The ability to work independently and solve optical design challenges without close supervision.
• Useful additional experience: ultraviolet optical systems.
• Especially valuable: combined experience in holography and UV optics.

Package and application

• The role includes an equity scheme.
• Life insurance is provided.
• A competitive salary is offered.
• Interested candidates are invited to contact Ella Flynn at IC Resources and apply through the advertised application route.

The posting is for a role in Edinburgh, Scotland. It does not specify whether the working arrangement is remote, hybrid, or fully onsite.

Degree Requirement: Not Specified

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