Applications Engineer, Photonics

QCi

13d•Onsite

About The Position

QCi is seeking a high-caliber Applications Engineer to support our Photonics Division. This role combines laboratory development with high-impact field engagement. You will spend approximately 70% of your time at our Santa Barbara facility, split between the lab—developing proof-of-concept demonstrations—and the office, providing technical support to new and existing customers. The remaining 30% of your time will involve domestic travel to customer sites and trade shows to showcase our technology and secure critical design wins. The ideal candidate possesses a sophisticated balance of technical expertise in photonic principles, hands-on hardware/software integration skills, and the professional soft skills necessary to cultivate long-term customer relationships and brand trust.

Requirements

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Optics, Photonics, or a related technical discipline.
Experience: 5+ years of hands-on experience in photonics, semiconductor lasers, optoelectronics, or optical sensing hardware.
Proven Track Record: Demonstrated ability to secure design wins within complex technical sales cycles.
Technical Depth: Strong fluency in semiconductor laser physics and integrated photonic components.
Communication: Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to influence technical stakeholders and executives alike.
Autonomy: A self-starter capable of driving projects independently while maintaining seamless integration with the broader team.

Responsibilities

Application Identification and Demonstration
Market Growth: Identify and pursue high-value applications and programs in lasers, photonic devices, and optical sensing systems.
Consultative Discovery: Extract and synthesize technical requirements from potential customers to provide tailored guidance on QCi-based photonic solutions.
Systems Engineering: Design, construct, and characterize hardware testbeds and system-level demonstrations that mirror real-world customer environments.
Benchmarking: Quantify and document the performance advantages of QCi photonics products against incumbent technologies.
Technical Content: Author high-quality application notes, whitepapers, and technical documentation to educate the market on specific use cases.
Thought Leadership: Present validated application results to internal peers, customers, and the broader scientific community through industry publications.
Trend Analysis: Research emerging technology sectors to identify "blue ocean" opportunities for QCi hardware insertion.
Sales and Customer Support
Technical Liaison: Serve as the primary technical resource for sales staff regarding product specifications, performance limits, and usage.
Strategic Engagement: Join sales leadership in high-stakes customer meetings to provide deep technical credibility.
Deployment Support: Provide expert on-site assistance for customer bring-up, system implementation, and complex troubleshooting.
Collaborative Design: Lead technical brainstorming sessions with customers to map QCi capabilities to their unique mission requirements.
Feedback Loop: Maintain an active bug tracker and feature request list, coordinating with the Engineering team to prioritize fixes and future product enhancement