Senior Optical Design Engineer - Explorations team

Garmin International, Inc.•Olathe, KS

About The Position

Garmin is seeking a full-time Senior Optical Engineer for its IXP Explorations Team in Cary, North Carolina, or Olathe, Kansas. Under general direction, this role provides technical leadership and project planning for complex optical designs, technologies, or systems that are new to Garmin. The work focuses on non-imaging optical systems for lighting applications, including signal, conspicuity, and forward illumination systems. The engineer designs and develops custom optical systems for consumer electronics, conducts optical simulations and analyses, translates optical surfaces into manufacturable mechanical models, and works with cross-functional teams throughout product development. The role also develops optical and photometric requirements, evaluates test results, analyzes design tradeoffs and costs, supports prototype manufacturing and testing, and helps ensure designs meet environmental, reliability, tolerance, integration, and manufacturability requirements. This position is eligible for Garmin's benefit program. Garmin is an equal opportunity employer and provides consideration to qualified applicants without regard to protected characteristics.

Requirements

Bachelor of Science in Optical Engineering, Bachelor of Arts in Physics, or a related field, plus at least 5 years of relevant experience; an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience is acceptable.
Cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 as a general rule.
Strong verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills.
Thorough knowledge of optical manufacturing processes, including machining, polishing, molding, and optical coatings, and of related production and operations issues.
Ability to exercise good judgment in setting schedules, taking risks, and completing tasks.
Proficiency with complex optical components and optical systems.
Expert use of one or more optical simulation tools, such as LucidShape, ZEMAX, Code V, Light Tools, or TracePro.

Nice To Haves

Degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Extensive optical design experience in illumination systems for consumer, automotive, or aviation products or related applications.
Understanding of thermal management of LEDs and associated drivers.
Proficiency with CAD software; SolidWorks or Onshape preferred.
Experience defining PCB footprints and communicating them to electrical engineering via IDF exports.

Responsibilities

Design and develop custom non-imaging optical systems for consumer electronics lighting applications.
Conduct optical simulation and analysis for concept development and design-change verification.
Transform optical surfaces into manufacturable mechanical component models.
Collaborate with industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and optical/illumination engineers throughout development.
Define design constraints related to industrial design goals, electromechanical integration, thermal limitations, power budgets, and design for manufacturing.
Develop optical and photometric requirements and analyze test data and reports to validate that requirements are met.
Perform rapid ideation and cost/performance tradeoff analysis of design options.
Perform benchmark testing and competitive analysis.
Estimate complex optical designs, including tooling, part cost, and design time.
Provide technical leadership in complex designs, simulations, and analyses, including tolerancing, stray-light, and non-sequential analysis.
Support the manufacture, build, and test of moderately complex optical prototypes.
Work with cross-functional teams to develop robust optical designs that account for manufacturable tolerances, dimensional constraints, and testability.
Design optics and optical systems to meet environmental and reliability requirements.
Work with mechanical engineering to consider tolerances, thermal requirements, and dimensional constraints.
Participate in design reviews and provide feedback on optical design and other engineering areas across multiple product types.