Senior Optical Engineer

Luminar is a global automotive technology company ushering in a new era of vehicle safety and autonomy. For the past decade, Luminar has built an advanced hardware and software/AI platform to enable its more than 50 industry partners, including the majority of global automotive OEMs. From consumer vehicle programs with Volvo Cars and Mercedes-Benz to technology partnerships including NVIDIA and Mobileye, Luminar is poised to be the first automotive technology company to enable next-generation safety and autonomous capabilities for global production vehicles. For more information please visit www.luminartech.com.

Team Overview

We are seeking an experienced Senior Optical Engineer to contribute to our LIDAR system design and development. The successful candidate will join a cross-functional team that combines light sources, beam delivery systems, detectors, firmware, and software to create market-leading LIDAR systems. The position requires an understanding of beam propagation, scattering theory, diffraction theory and material characterization.  

Responsibilities

• Develop comprehensive modeling for optical paths from light generation to light detection
•  Conduct system level stray light analyses and provide solutions  
• Manage and apply material property libraries including reflectivity and scatter models (for example Harvey-Shack, ABg, and/or BSDF)  
• Develop and utilize scripts to automate simulation analyses  
• Conduct coherent beam propagation simulations  
• Conduct opto-mechanical tolerance analyses to assess impact on system performance  
• Support troubleshooting optical system performance irregularities through simulations  
• Generate technical reports to effectively communicate optical simulation results
• Build and test prototypes and measurement tools to support New Product Integration and Advanced Manufacturing Teams 

Minimum Qualifications

• B.S. in Optical Engineering or related field  
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in an optical engineering role  
• Minimum of 3 years’ experience with non-sequential optical design software such as FRED or ASAP  
• Proficiency with CAD including preparation and transfer of system designs for optical simulations  
• Strong data analysis capability, including DOE and multivariable tolerance analysis  
• Experience using MATLAB, Python or comparable  
• Strong communication and report writing skills  

Preferred Qualifications

• M.S. in Optical Engineering or related field  
• Experience designing LiDAR systems  
• Experience with Fourier analysis of electromagnetic fields (FDTD, RCWA, or comparable)  
• Experience with Cornerstone data analysis software
• Experience in SolidWorks, CREO or CATIA  
• Design for Six Sigma (DFSS)  
• Experi