What are the responsibilities and job description for the Vision Research Specialist position at Hoya?
Join The HOYA Vision Care Team!
For over 60 years, HOYA Vision Care has been a passionate leader in optical technology innovation. As a manufacturer of high quality, high performing eyeglass lenses, we continuously aim to bring the best possible vision care solutions to eye care professionals.
We are currently hiring a Vision Research Scientist in our Ramsey, MN location!
Salary Range: $140K
What's in it for you?
- Health/Dental/Vision/Disability Insurance
- Tuition Reimbursement
- 401K plans
- PTO and Paid Holidays
- And more!
About the Role
We are expanding our internal Vision Science Program to accelerate early discovery, deepen our understanding of human visual performance, and shape the future of premium ophthalmic lens design. As our Vision Research Specialist, you will lead our vision performance clinic that drives new insights, testing breakthrough ideas, and translating human visual behavior into next-generation optical solutions.
This role blends research optometry, applied vision science, rapid experimentation, and cross-functional collaboration. You will design and execute exploratory studies, measure subjective performance metrics, and provide the scientific insights that shape our understanding of improved vision performance through design innovation.
Core Role Summary
The Vision Research Scientist leads early-stage vision science research and rapid clinical experimentation to understand how lens designs interact with binocular vision and neural processing. Their primary responsibility is to design, execute, and interpret in-clinic testing of experimental and pre-commercial lens concepts, using both established and newly invented objective performance metrics.
What You'll Do
The Vision Science Research Specialist is a human-subject research professional responsible for the design, execution, validation, and documentation of controlled vision performance testing used to evaluate experimental, pre-commercial, and early-launch ophthalmic lens concepts.
This role applies process validation principles (IQ-OQ-PQ) to clinical research workflows, ensuring that vision performance outcomes are repeatable, auditable, ethically conducted, and scientifically defensible.
The position is not a patient-care role. It is a testing, validation, and evidence-generation role, operating under regulated research principles including HIPAA, IRB oversight, Good Clinical Practice (GCP), and internal Quality Management System (QMS) requirements.
Primary Outputs
- Clinical pilot study designs and reports
- Objective performance datasets comparing lens concepts
- Validated testing protocols and metric frameworks
- Clear performance narratives linking lens design to wearer outcomes
- Early scientific insights that shape future product roadmaps
Required Qualifications
- OD, PhD, or OD/PhD with specialization in binocular vision, visual psychophysics, optical science, neuro-vision, or related field
- Experience designing and conducting clinical or experimental research
- Strong analytical skills, comfort with data modeling and statistical reasoning
- Working knowledge of refraction, lens design principles, and visual performance metrics
- Ability to translate science into practical, commercially relevant insights to create category leadership