Optical Engineer – Lighting Products

Legrand NA • Chicago, IL

1d • $120,000 - $130,000

About The Position

Legrand has an exciting opportunity for a Optical Engineer – Lighting Products to join the Focal Point Team in Chicago, IL . The Optical Engineer will design, develop, and optimize optical systems for advanced lighting products. The ideal candidate will work closely with mechanical, electrical, and industrial design teams to create high-performance optical solutions that deliver superior illumination quality, efficiency, and visual comfort. This role requires strong expertise in optical design, simulation, prototyping, and validation of LED-based lighting systems. This position reports to the Sr. Director, Engineering.

Requirements

• 3+ years of experience in optical design for LED lighting or illumination systems (commercial, architectural, automotive, or consumer lighting).
• Strong understanding of non-imaging optics and illumination design.
• Experience with optical simulation and ray-tracing software.
• Knowledge of LED sources, color mixing, light extraction, and glare control techniques.
• Experience working with injection-molded optics, reflectors, and light guide technologies.
• Familiarity with photometric measurement equipment and lighting standards.
• Optical design and ray tracing
• LED optics and light distribution design
• Photometric testing and analysis
• Cross-functional engineering collaboration
• Product development lifecycle management
• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in Optical Engineering, Physics, Electrical Engineering, or related field.

Nice To Haves

• Experience designing optics for architectural or commercial luminaires.
• Familiarity with IESNA lighting standards and photometric files (IES/LDT).
• Experience with tolerance analysis and optical manufacturing constraints.
• Knowledge of human-centric lighting, color quality (CRI/TM-30), and glare metrics (UGR).
• Experience with CAD tools such as SolidWorks or PTC Creo.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop optical systems for LED lighting products, including lenses, reflectors, light guides, diffusers, and optical films.
• Perform optical modeling and simulation to optimize light distribution, efficiency, and glare control.
• Develop optical concepts that meet photometric, aesthetic, and regulatory requirements.
• Use optical simulation software (e.g., LightTools, Zemax OpticStudio, TracePro, or LucidShape) to model and validate designs.
• Collaborate with mechanical engineering teams to integrate optics into manufacturable luminaire designs.
• Work with suppliers to develop and evaluate optical components such as lenses, reflectors, and diffusers.
• Build and test prototypes, conduct photometric measurements, and validate optical performance using goniophotometers and integrating spheres.
• Analyze test data and iterate designs to improve performance, uniformity, and efficiency.
• Ensure compliance with relevant lighting standards and regulations (IES, UL, energy codes).
• Support new product development from concept through production release.

Benefits

• LNCA offers comprehensive medical, dental , and vision coverage, as well as distinctive benefits like a high employer 401K match, paid time off (PTO) and holiday pay, short-term and long-term disability benefit plans, above-benchmark paid maternity and parental leave, bonus opportunities in accordance with the Company’s incentive plans, paid time off to volunteer, and an active/growing Employee Resource Group network.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level