What are the responsibilities and job description for the Manager, Electro-Optical Technicians position at nLIGHT?
Location: Longmont, CO (onsite)
Experience: 6 years of experience working in and leading electro-optical teams
Minimum Education: H.S. Diploma or GED required; Associate Degree or Technical Certification is a preferred.
Compensation: $93,000-$126,000 depending on experience.
Who We Are
nLIGHT-DEFENSE Systems, Inc. is one of the nation’s leading developers of Directed Energy systems, which is a top modernization priority of the Department of Defense. Our High Energy Laser (HEL) systems, Adaptive Optical (AO) systems, and Acquisition / Pointing / Tracking (APT) solutions are designed to overcome the most difficult challenges facing the deployment of high energy laser solutions to the United States military and our allies. Located in Longmont, Colorado, nLIGHT-DEFENSE Systems, Inc. is a vertically integrated business that leverages internal capabilities – from semiconductor device through target identification – to develop systems that are both high-performance and cost-effective. We continue to invest in capabilities, facilities and technology to bring leading edge HEL solutions to the warfighter. This is a great opportunity to work at a company that is on the leading edge of the HEL industry and provides a culture of excellence and commitment to delivering solutions to the warfighter and our country.
Headquartered in Camas, Washington, nLIGHT is a publicly listed company (NASDAQ: LASR).
Summary
We are seeking a highly skilled, organized, and motivated Manager of an existing Electro‑Optical (EO) Technician team to support and lead hands‑on assembly, integration, alignment, and test of advanced high‑energy laser beam control systems. This role is a hybrid of technical contributor and people manager, responsible for supervising EO Technicians while remaining deeply engaged in electro‑optical assembly and integration activities.
The successful candidate will serve as a technical leader —providing day‑to‑day guidance, mentoring, and workflow coordination—while partnering closely with electro‑optical engineers to ensure subsystem and system‑level performance, quality, and schedule commitments are met. This position offers exposure across the full lifecycle of leading‑edge laser systems in a clean‑room production environment.
All applicants must possess or be qualified to obtain a U.S. DoD Personnel Security Clearance. Preference will be given to candidates with an existing clearance. Information on clearance requirements can be found at: https://www.dcsa.mil/mc/pv/mbi/gicp/
Responsibilities:
- Perform hands‑on assembly, integration, alignment, and test of electro‑optical and opto‑mechanical subsystems, including complex multi‑element optical trains and system‑level builds.
- Lead technician‑level execution of precision optical tasks such as optic mounting and bonding, interferometric verification, and troubleshooting of optical, mechanical, or alignment issues.
- Supervise, mentor, and train Electro‑Optical Technicians; assign and prioritize work, provide technical guidance, and review completed work for quality and compliance.
- Operate, interpret, and validate results from optical alignment and metrology equipment (autocollimators, interferometers, beam profilers, spectrophotometers, OSAs).
- Develop, maintain, and improve assembly processes, work instructions, travelers, alignment logs, and other production documentation to ensure repeatability and traceability.
- Enforce clean‑room contamination control practices, component handling standards, and parts traceability requirements.
- Serve as the primary technical liaison between technicians and engineering, supporting schedule execution, integration milestones, and cross‑disciplinary coordination.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives related to production workflows, tooling readiness, documentation clarity, ergonomics, and quality performance.
Required Experience
- Commitment to Excellence. Attention to Detail. Pride in Workmanship.
- Prior experience providing technical leadership, mentoring, or informal supervision of technicians; formal lead or supervisory experience strongly preferred.
- 6 years of hands‑on experience in optical or electro‑optical assembly, alignment, and test within a clean‑room production or R&D environment.
- Demonstrated proficiency working with lasers, lenses, waveplates, fiber optics, optical mounts, and electro‑optical subsystems.
- Proven ability to independently perform precision optical alignment, bonding, interferometric evaluation, and system‑level troubleshooting.
- Experience operating and interpreting data from optical alignment and metrology equipment (e.g., interferometers, autocollimators, beam profilers, spectrophotometers, optical spectrum analyzers).
- Strong understanding of optical fundamentals including beam propagation, wavefront error, polarization, alignment sensitivities, and contamination control.
- Demonstrated ability to develop, refine, and author production documentation such as work instructions, SOPs, travelers, alignment logs, and test records.
- Comfortable enforcing ISO‑7 (or better) clean‑room standards, optic handling practices, parts traceability, and quality requirements.
- Experience with optical bonding techniques and building production‑worthy or flight‑quality assemblies.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to interface effectively with engineering, quality, and production teams.
Benefits Summary:
- 4 weeks of Paid Time Off per year
- 11 paid Holidays
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan
- Tuition Assistance Program
- Health (ACA Gold Plan), Vision and Dental Care paid by employer 100% for Employee and 75% for Dependents
- Paid Family Leave, Short and Long Term Disability paid by employer 100%
- Competitive 401k with company match and immediate vesting
Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or age. For more information about our commitment to equal employment opportunity, please see this government poster: Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal. If you are an individual with a disability and need a reasonable accommodation in the application or hiring process, please contact Human Resources at HR@nlightdefense.com.
Salary : $93,000 - $126,000