Jobs Ask AI Pay Interviews Companies CompareSign in

Wait…

We read every job from the company's own job board. You apply on the company site.Jobs Job types Internships New graduate jobs Companies Pay Reported pay Check an offer Add your pay Interview questions Add your interview questions Compare with LinkedIn Job sites compared Pay transparency laws API for developers Monthly report Companies we cover Make a portfolio page For companies: find people About Privacy

Electro-Optical/Adaptive Optics Engineer

Xcimer Energy, Denver, CO

Posted pay

$120K–$180K

a year

Location: Denver, CO
Work type: Onsite
Level: Not given
Experience: 5+ years
Skills in the job text: Python
C++
C
C#
MATLAB
Posted: Sep 24, 2026
Last check: 1 h ago
Job type: Hardware and robotics

Apply on the Xcimer Energy site Sign in to save

The Xcimer Energy site opens in a new tab.

XE

Xcimer Energy

About Xcimer Energy: funding, hiring and pay

Check my fit

Compare your résumé with this job. See where you match, what is missing and which lines to change.

Sign in to check your fit

The role

As an Electro-Optical / Adaptive Optics Engineer, you will work across simulation and hardware: helping develop wave-optics propagation models that predict what the beamline will do, writing and tuning the control algorithms that correct it, and aligning and operating the AO hardware that closes the loop. You will help specify next-generation AO components and work with vendors to build them, alongside a multidisciplinary team of optical, mechanical, controls, and software engineers developing the surrounding systems in parallel.

Your work will directly contribute to improving beam quality, stability, and system performance, enabling the delivery of unprecedented laser capabilities for inertial fusion energy (IFE). We are looking for our engineers and scientists to apply their technical expertise, problem-solving skills, and dedication to quality to positively impact the future of energy!

What you will do

Develop and implement optimization routines for the adaptive optics control loop, and characterize their performance against measured data.
Design and implement algorithms for spatial beam shaping using phase plates and adaptive optics.
Align, calibrate, and operate adaptive optics hardware on a high-energy laser system, including deformable mirrors, wavefront sensors, and supporting diagnostics.
Build auto-alignment methods and routines to make beamline setup repeatable and fast.
Characterize the optical environment – aberration sources, thermal drift, vibration and jitter, beam path turbulence — and translate what you find into adaptive optics requirements.
Leverage and improve wave-optics propagation code to model the laser systems, in close collaboration with the Xcimer Theory and Computation team, and anchor those models against measurements so predictions can be trusted.
Contribute to wavefront error budgets and tolerance analyses spanning system to component level.
Collaborate closely with vendors to develop and drive the next generation of AO platforms for Xcimer’s needs, with a focus on deformable mirrors and wavefront sensors.
Work with control system engineers to integrate AO within the larger laser control system, helping define required controls, interlocks, and operator feedback/UI.
Write and maintain the test plans, alignment procedures, and calibration records that let others reproduce your results.
Maintain contamination-control discipline appropriate to deep-UV, high-fluence optics

What you need

Education: B.S. in optical science/engineering, physics, or a related field.
Experience: 5+ years of optical science/engineering experience, including 3+ years directly related to adaptive optics systems.
Experience developing adaptive optics systems using wavefront sensors and deformable mirrors, including established optimization and reconstruction methods.
Experience with high-fidelity physical wave-optics propagation in the near and far field.
Experience with hands-on optical subsystem integration and alignment.
Experience working across multidisciplinary engineering fields including optical, opto-mechanical, software, and controls systems.
Working proficiency in at least one of MATLAB, Python, or C/C++/C# for modeling, analysis, and hardware control.
Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

Nice to have

M.S. or Ph.D. in optical engineering/science, physics, or a related field.
5+ years of experience directly related to adaptive optics.
Depth in several of the following: turbulence characterization in beam paths; wavefront reconstruction and control law design; radiometry and imaging diagnostics; statistical and systems analysis; experimental work with high-energy laser systems.
Experience with high-energy optical systems operating in the deep UV, including laser-induced damage considerations and contamination control.
Experience designing adaptive optics coupled to beam pointing and jitter stabilization systems.
Experience defining and flowing down adaptive optics requirements from system to component level.
Familiarity with real-time control implementation — LabVIEW, embedded firmware, FPGA-based control, or low-latency computing architectures.
Familiarity with opto-mechanical practice: kinematic and flexure mounting, adhesive bonding, cleanroom assembly, and STOP (structural-thermal-optical performance) analysis.

Pay and benefits

Xcimer offers a comprehensive benefits package designed to support employee health, well-being, and long-term success. Benefits include medical, dental, and vision coverage; basic and supplemental life insurance; short- and long-term disability; paid parental leave for employees at the time of birth or adoption; and a 401(k) with a company match of up to 6%. Eligible employees also receive equity, allowing them to share in the company’s long-term success.

Xcimer operates under a flexible Paid Time Off (ATO) approach. Rather than a fixed number of vacation days, employees are trusted to take the time they need to rest and recharge while meeting the expectations of their role and team. In addition, employees receive paid sick time, 13 company-paid holidays, and an annual paid company shutdown. Benefits are available to regular employees, including part-time and fixed-term roles, as well as interns, with eligibility varying by benefit.

About Xcimer Energy

Xcimer Energy leverages decades of research on Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) combined with groundbreaking new laser architecture. Our mission is to deploy fusion power plants to meet global decarbonization goals as fast as possible. Xcimer has assembled a team of leaders in tough tech, fusion science, and manufacturing with a track record of rapid execution. Supported by leading investors, Xcimer is uniquely positioned to deliver limitless, clean, fusion power to combat climate change. Join us in powering a better world with inertial fusion!

This is a full-time, onsite role based at our headquarters in Denver, CO.

Legal notes

Xcimer Energy is proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and is committed to attracting, retaining, and developing a highly qualified, diverse, and dedicated work force. Xcimer Energy hires and promotes people on the basis of their qualifications, performance, and abilities. We support the establishment and maintenance of a workplace that fosters trust, equality, and teamwork, in which all employees recognize and appreciate the diversity of individual team members.

We provide all qualified applicants for employment and employees with equal opportunities for hire, promotion, and other terms and conditions of employment, regardless of their race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin/ethnicity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic factors, military/veteran status, or any other status or characteristic protected by federal, state, and/or local law. Xcimer Energy will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws.

Read the job posting on the Xcimer Energy site

Similar jobs at other companies

Principal Optical Engineer - Active Alignment
NeurophosAustin, Texas
- Principal
- Onsite
- Hardware and robotics
$245K–$280K / yr
Posted yesterday
SC
Optical Engineer - Beam Expander & Optical Systems Design
Star CatcherJacksonville, Florida +1
- Hardware and robotics
Pay not posted
Posted yesterday
E
Mechanical Engineer - Optical Systems (Miami, FL)
ExowattMiami, FL
- Onsite
- Hardware and robotics
Pay not posted
Posted Jul 21, 2026
F
Laser Architect (f/m/d)
FocusedDarmstadt, DE
- Hybrid
- Hardware and robotics
Pay not posted
Posted Sep 21, 2026
Senior Laser Test & Characterization Engineer
NeurophosAustin, Texas
- Senior
- Onsite
- Hardware and robotics
$160K–$185K / yr
Posted 8 days ago
Sr. Electrical Engineer, Lasercom
Observable SpaceLos Angeles, CA
- Senior
- Hybrid
- Hardware and robotics
$150K–$190K / yr
Posted Oct 6, 2026

Source: the Xcimer Energy Lever job board. We last checked this job 1 h ago. We first saw it 5 days ago. A job on a job board does not always mean that the team interviews people now. We found this job board in a public list. We did not yet compare it with the careers page of the company.

Interview questions

No one has reported an interview at Xcimer Energy yet. Did you interview there? Add the questions.

XE

Xcimer Energy

Open tech jobs: 19
With posted pay: 100%
Median posted base: $134K–$182K

About Xcimer Energy: funding, hiring and pay

Compared with similar jobs

This base pay is above the median for hardware and robotics jobs in other US places with no level in the job title.

Median: $143K a year
Other jobs in the group: 808

We compare the middle of each posted range. This is base pay as posted. The group does not include this job.