Optical Designer (f/m/d)

Skip to main contentEnglishEnglishBack to all jobsOptical Designer (f/m/d)MünchenFull-timeFixed-termApply for this jobDescriptionWe are seeking a skilled and passionate optical designer to support the development of our quantum sensing measurement systems. In this role, you will design and optimize high-performance imaging optics and illumination systems that enable high-resolution, wide-field imaging and reproducible measurements. You will collaborate with engineering partners and vendors to continuously improve our current measurement instruments and bring new products to market, with a strong focus on imaging performance, illumination uniformity, and stray-light control.Who we areFounded in 2022 as a spin-off of TU Munich, QD leverages quantum sensors to rapidly capture three-dimensional current maps within multi-layer chips. Our strong, international team of over 70, including physicists, engineers, data scientists, and other experts, works side by side with major semiconductor manufacturers, supporting chip debugging and accelerating yield analysis. Backed by top-tier deep tech investors, semiconductor experts, and strategic public programs, we have ensured long-term stability, shifting from breakthrough to scale - and shaping the next chapter in chip testing.Why join us?Picture this:Quantum sensors that see inside the most advanced chips on Earth, right where two frontier fields collide.Nobel-Prize physics aimed at real customers with real problems, in production now, not someday.Physicists, data scientists, and engineers building side by side, turning deep science into tools the industry actually runs on.An international team that runs at hard problems for fun, where knowledge moves fast and so do you.Still unsure about why joining us?You'll get to build a company together with a brilliant and welcoming team on a product that has never been done before.From Day 1, you'll own your own topics end to end and see the direct impact of your work on how the world sees QuantumDiamonds.Our technology is the cutting edge of tomorrow, starting today and not in 10 years.You’ll be part of a high-growth company backed by top-tier investors.Let’s make the invisible visible!What will you doBuild the illumination and imaging optics at the heart of our NV-diamond sensors: excitation in, fluorescence out.Design custom imaging optics from scratch where no catalog solution exists, for example high-NA, wide-field, long-working-distance objectives, balancing competing constraints on resolution, field, and mechanical envelope.Own subsystems end to end: concept, design, tolerancing, prototype, production.Model and optimize in ZEMAX, sequential and non-sequential: imaging performance, illumination uniformity, stray light, and artifact mitigation.Choose and budget the illumination source from radiometry and etendue, and design the beam homogenization and shaping.Define the optical architecture: objectives, relays, telescopic (afocal) systems, pupils, telecentricity, and the excitation/emission filter and dichroic scheme.Write error budgets and tolerance studies that stay manufacturable and testable.Validate your models on the bench: build, align, and characterize prototypes, own the optical testing, and reconcile measurement with simulation.Source and qualify optical components such as lenses, filters, objectives, and sources.Script your own analysis in Python and hand off clean prescriptions, specs, and reports to production.What is expected of youStrong optical-design ability. We hire for demonstrated skill rather than a specific degree; a background in optics, photonics, or physics is typical.5+ years designing real optical systems, not just coursework.Fluency in ZEMAX, sequential and non-sequential.Solid fundamentals: radiometry, etendue and brightness, aberrations, MTF, tolerancing.You model in Python (or similar) and trust the bench over any single tool.Hands-on lab skills: alignment, metrology (interferometer, collimator, test bench),...