Senior Electro-Optics System Physicist/Engineer

About Us

Spiral Photonics is a deep-tech startup building a breakthrough infrared (IR) sensing platform and developing next-generation imaging and sensing systems based on advanced nonlinear optics.

Our technology integrates advanced nonlinear optics, electro-optical engineering, and novel system architectures to unlock a new class of high-performance IR detection capabilities. Built on more than 15 years of breakthrough academic research from the Weizmann Institute and Tel Aviv University, and supported by experienced leadership and a technical team. 

About the Role

We are looking for a hands-on electro-optics system physicist/engineer to play a central role in designing, building, integrating, and testing Spiral Photonics' next-generation electro-optical system. The role combines deep physical understanding with practical engineering execution, from system architecture and simulation through hands-on integration and validation.

The Optical Systems Physicist/Engineer will tackle complex multidisciplinary engineering challenges across optics, photonics, mechanics, thermal behavior, electronics, and overall system performance. The role requires creative problem-solving, physical and engineering intuition, and a blend of simulation and experimentation. This hands-on role offers the chance to join the founding R&D team and take significant ownership of the complete electro-optical system's performance and maturity.

Key Responsibilities

●       Design, build, integrate, and test our next-generation electro-optical system from subsystem level through full-system validation

●       Translate system-level performance requirements into optical, mechanical, thermal, electronic, and control requirements and engineering trade-offs

●       Develop creative solutions to complex engineering problems using physics, simulations, analytical models, and hands-on experimentation

●       Design, simulate, and optimize optical systems using simulation tools, validated through rigorous optical bench testing

●       Plan and execute optical bench experiments, characterization campaigns, and system performance testing to validate designs and models

●       Identify sources of instability, sensitivity, drift, alignment error, and performance degradation, and develop robust engineering solutions

●       Design and build custom test, calibration, and inspection setups required for system development and validation

●       Drive root-cause analysis of system-level failures and work with internal and external engineering partners to mature the system toward a reliable, manufacturable product

Required Qualifications

●       M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Optical Engineering, Applied Physics, or a related field

●       5-6+ years of hands-on experience in optical, EO, photonics, or multidisciplinary system engineering

●       Proven track record designing and validating EO systems

●       Strong programming/scripting skills (MATLAB, Python, or C) for modeling, data analysis, calibration, and automation

●       Demonstrated experience taking complex HW systems from R&D prototype to productization

●       Extensive experience with optical bench setups, laboratory instrumentation, alignment, and testing

Preferred Qualifications

●       Background in photonics, nonlinear optics, lasers, or related experimental physics research

●       Experience with multidisciplinary EO systems involving optics, mechanics, electronics, and thermal management

●       Experience in a deep-tech or HW startup environment, from early R&D to product

●       Fluency in Hebrew and English

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