Principal, Photonics Engineer

Aurelius Systems•San Francisco, CA

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

Aurelius Systems is a VC-backed defense tech startup building autonomous, edge-deployed directed energy systems for counter-UAS. We build laser weapons to shoot down drones. We're a small team of engineers, former US military operators, and subject matter experts scaling America's directed energy dominance. We are focused on building the first cost-effective, reliable, and robust laser weapon system. Our namesake, Marcus Aurelius, wrote about doing the work in front of you, every day, without excuses. Henry Ford didn't wait for permission to reinvent manufacturing. That's how we operate — small team, unreasonable output, no hiding behind the unachievable. In addition to our San Francisco lab, we’ve opened a Detroit manufacturing hub and we field test weekly on our own 400-acre private range. We need a Principal Photonics Engineer who has actually built fiber laser sources and can own them as a domain. You'll own the laser source from fiber to beam — architecture, build, characterization, and field validation of the high-power fiber laser systems that put energy on target. You'll set the technical direction across the full optical chain (pump diodes, fiber combiners, gain fibers, beam delivery optics) and make it all survive real-world conditions. You'll mentor the photonics team, set the bar for how we build, and be the senior technical voice on laser source decisions inside the company. You'll splice fiber, align optics, troubleshoot thermal issues in the field, and watch your system destroy a drone. The feedback loop between your bench and the test range is days, not weeks.

Requirements

10+ years building fiber laser systems or high-power fiber-based optical systems
Senior IC track record at fiber laser companies, directed energy programs, or photonics groups that actually shipped high-power fiber systems
Direct hands-on experience with fusion splicing, fiber preparation, and high-power fiber assembly
Deep understanding of fiber laser physics including stimulated emission, nonlinear effects (SBS, SRS), thermal lensing, and how they limit real systems
Experience selecting and integrating pump diodes, gain fibers, couplers, isolators, and fiber Bragg gratings
Proficient with optical test equipment (power meters, beam profilers, OSAs, thermal cameras)
Comfort with optical simulation tools (Zemax, MATLAB, RP Fiber Power, COMSOL, or equivalent)
Track record taking laser source designs from prototype to validated, fielded system
You've personally architected a high-power fiber laser system and watched it work in the field.
You can splice fiber and set technical direction in the same week.
You know the gap between a clean bench result and a system that survives a range day.
BS, MS, or PhD in Optical Engineering, Photonics, Physics, Electrical Engineering, or related field. What you've built matters more than where you went to school.

Nice To Haves

Experience with directed energy weapon systems or defense laser programs
Background in spectral or coherent beam combining for power scaling
Familiarity with MIL-STD standards and ITAR compliance
Experience with ruggedized optical system deployment in harsh environments
Active security clearance or ability to obtain one
Experience with laser safety protocols and high-power laser operations

Responsibilities

Architecture and technical direction for high-power fiber laser systems
Hands-on design and build across the full optical chain
Thermal management strategy
Beam delivery and beam combining strategy
Selection and integration of pump diodes, gain fibers (Yb, Er, Tm), fiber Bragg gratings, and passive optical components
Hands-on prototyping, assembly, alignment, and field testing on our range
Laser performance characterization including output power, beam quality (M²), spectral stability, and thermal behavior under operational conditions
Optical simulation and design (Zemax, MATLAB, COMSOL, RP Fiber Power, or equivalent)
Design for manufacturability and ruggedization. Our systems must survive transport, vibration, and harsh field environments
Integration of laser systems with power electronics, perception, and control subsystems
Schematics, BOMs, test procedures, and documentation meeting MIL-STD and ITAR requirements
Mentorship of the photonics team and setting the technical bar for how we build, test, and field laser sources