Senior Optical Engineer – Stray Light

Job overview

The Senior Optical Engineer – Stray Light role is full-time and onsite at Xcimer Energy’s headquarters in Denver, CO. The annual salary range is $160,000–$200,000. Xcimer’s mission is to deploy fusion power plants to advance global decarbonization. This engineer serves as the technical authority for non-sequential ray tracing and stray-light mitigation, helping protect high-energy laser systems from performance degradation and optical damage. The role works across optical design, opto-mechanical engineering, materials science, and optical systems teams.

What you'll do

• Perform non-sequential ray tracing, primarily with FRED, to analyze stray light, ghost reflections, scattering, and diffraction
• identify and mitigate hot spots and fringing effects
• model baffles, apertures, and beam dumps
• write and maintain scripts to automate simulations and process data
• collaborate on optical layouts, mitigation hardware, materials, and system-level requirements.

What we're looking for

Skills & competencies

senior optical engineer

stray light

xcimer energy

denver co

full-time

$160k–$200k

non-sequential ray tracing

fred

high-energy duv lasers

optical engineering

python

matlab

fusion energy

Work arrangement

• Weekend coverage required

Benefits & perks

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• life insurance
• short- and long-term disability
• paid parental leave
• 401(k) match up to 6%
• equity for eligible employees
• flexible paid time off
• paid sick time
• 13 company-paid holidays
• annual paid company shutdown.

Why this role

Requires 5+ years of stray-light analysis and non-sequential optomechanical modeling, expert non-sequential optical design software proficiency, and scripting experience. U.S. citizenship or specified U.S. immigration status is required. Ph.D. and additional high-energy laser or DUV experience are desired.

About the employer

Xcimer Energy is hiring for this role. Industry: Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology). Sector: 54.