Optical Engineer, Precision Instrumentation

Astera Institute•Emerybille, CA

About The Position

Astera Neuro is a philanthropically funded research organization within the Astera Institute, working to decipher and ultimately write the neural codes underlying perception, thought, behavior, and internal state. The tools this requires do not yet exist, so we are assembling a founding team of experimental neuroscientists, computational scientists, and engineers to build them, from recording and interface hardware to software and computational methods, and to use them to study neural activity at unprecedented scale, with direct promise for treating neurological and psychiatric disease. We pursue high-risk, high-reward science in a collaborative, well-resourced environment with competitive compensation, and share our tools, data, and discoveries openly under Astera's Open Science Policy. Reading and writing complex neural activity patterns with light, via two-photon imaging and two-photon optogenetics, is one of the principal ways Astera Neuro will pursue this mission. You will design and build the optical systems our experiments depend on, most of which don’t exist commercially. Working directly with scientists and industry collaborators, you will develop a design, build it, and iterate until it works for the experiment. Some projects are well specified from the start; others begin as a rough idea that takes shape as you build. The work crosses mechanical design, fabrication, electronics, and optics, often within a single project. You do not need a background in neuroscience to apply; we are looking for world-class generalists who have built precision hardware in demanding industry settings, and who pick up the science as they go. You will own complex instruments end-to-end and help drive technical direction.

Requirements

A world-class generalist and hands-on problem-solver who has built precision hardware in a high-precision industry, ideally medical devices, robotics, aerospace, semiconductor capital equipment, or commercial or academic scientific instrumentation.
Designed and built hardware that other people relied on for real work, and kept it running.
Resourcefulness about getting things built quickly: you will machine one part, 3D-print the next, and send a job out for what is better outsourced.
Comfort working from a rough idea rather than a finished spec, figuring out the path to a working instrument together with the people who need it.
Deep fundamentals in optical design and fabrication.
Intellectually curious, collaborative, and eager to learn the science around you.
A track record of owning complex instruments end-to-end, from concept through fabrication, integration, and reliable operation.
Experience making and defending design tradeoffs across performance, manufacturability, cost, and timeline.
Experience equipping and running an optical workshop, makerspace, or prototyping facility.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with femtosecond lasers, non-linear microscopy, and wavefront engineering.
Experience with optical alignment, small precise parts, and tight tolerances.
Hands-on electronics design (PCB layout, embedded systems, sensor/actuator integration).
CAD/CAM proficiency and 3D printing.
Experience integrating hardware with data acquisition systems (DAQ, TTL synchronization, serial/SPI protocols).

Responsibilities

Design precision optical systems for neuroscience experiments, such as large field-of-view, high-speed two-photon imaging and photostimulation microscopes.
Develop an advanced miniature two-photon microscope capable of simultaneous imaging and photostimulation in freely moving animals.
Build electronics, control hardware, and software that interface the optical systems with data acquisition and the rest of the research stack.