Senior Software Engineer

Luna Innovations • Chino, CA

28d

About The Position

At Luna Innovations, we measure and manage light in optical fiber. Our Optics/Polarization product line, based out of Chino, CA, specializes in industry-leading components, modules, and test equipment for the characterization and control of optical polarization. Our instruments—ranging from dynamic optical delay/phase management, high-speed polarization state management, full function polarization light analyzer—are critical for optical communications, silicon photonics testing, and fiber optic sensing.

We are seeking a talented Software Engineer with at least 5 years of experience to join the software development team for photonics instrumentation. You will bridge the gap between complex optical hardware and user-facing data, writing the code that controls precision optical devices , manages high-speed data acquisition, and visualizes complex optical impairments in real time.

If you are passionate about hardware-software integration and want to build the logic that drives state-of-the-art optical test equipment, we want you on our team.

Requirements

• Experience: 5+ years of professional software engineering experience, specifically in environments where software interacts directly with physical hardware or scientific instrumentation.
• Core Languages: Proficiency in C/C++ (for low-level hardware control, embedded systems, and high-performance data processing) and Python (for scripting, automation, and data analysis).
• Hardware Interfacing: Deep understanding of communication protocols and hardware interfaces (e.g., SPI, I2C, UART, TCP/IP, USB, GPIB). You should be comfortable reading a hardware datasheet and writing the driver logic.
• Real-Time Processing: Experience with multithreading, memory management, and optimizing code for speed to ensure microsecond-level switching and data logging without latency.
• Mathematical & Analytical Proficiency: The software must calculate and map dynamic optical states. You should have a solid grasp of linear algebra and matrix math (crucial for Jones and Mueller matrices).
• Problem Solving: Exceptional ability to debug complex, multi-disciplinary systems where a software bug might actually be an electrical noise issue or an optical alignment problem.

Nice To Haves

• Domain knowledge in optics, photonics, or telecommunications (specifically concepts like optics IL, RL PDL, and polarization states).
• Experience designing and building Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) for scientific or test measurement equipment.
• Experienced in Linux driver/App development
• Familiarity with lab equipment (oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, logic analyzers) for debugging software-hardware interactions.
• Instrument/equipment control language such as LabVIEW.

Responsibilities

• Hardware Control & Integration: Develop low-level firmware and high-level software to interface with custom optical hardware
• Data Acquisition & Processing: Design software architectures capable of handling high-speed data streams from optical detectors, ensuring seamless data stream and real-time processing.
• Algorithm Implementation: Translate complex optical physics and mathematics into efficient code, including optical parameter matrix manipulation (such as Stokes parameters), close-loop control based on measurement result etc.
• Application Development: Maintain and expand our user-facing data display software/GUI, creating intuitive interfaces that allow engineers to visualize data on a virtual oscilloscope or Poincaré sphere.
• Automated Test Environments (ATE): Expose APIs and write SDKs so our instruments can be seamlessly integrated into our customers' larger manufacturing and test pipelines.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with optical, electrical, and systems engineers to define instrument capabilities, troubleshoot prototypes, and bring new photonic test equipment to market.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed