Senior Optical Engineer

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience required.

• Minimum of 8 years' relevant work experience.

Additional Information

This is a term position with an end date of September 26, 2026, with the possibility of extension, contingent upon work performance and continued funding to support the position.

The health of our workforce is a priority for Harvard University. With that in mind, we strongly encourage all employees to be up-to-date on CDC-recommended vaccines.

Please note that we are currently conducting a majority of interviews and onboarding remotely and virtually. We appreciate your understanding.

The Harvard Medical School is not able to provide visa sponsorship for this position.

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Position Description

Harvard University is launching a nation-wide initiative around platforms for microfluidics and optical engineering. The DARTS project is a large, high-profile, multi-institutional project that focuses on developing microfluidics and microscopy tools to capture microbes from clinical samples and identify the antibiotics to which they are sensitive.

We are searching for an optical engineer to work with our team to accomplish these goals. This position will work closely with researchers who have developed prototype instruments, and will engage with faculty, researchers and corporate partners to develop these prototypes into robust instruments that can be used in real world contexts.

In this position, you will design, build, and test advanced microscopes and other imaging-based approaches that push the limits on speed, resolution, content, and throughput using: 1) live-cell super-resolution methods (e.g.. SIM, QPM and Fourier Ptychography); 2) label-free methods (e.g. FLIM, hyperspectral imaging and Raman; 3) hardware designed for ultra-fast and ultra-high-throughput imaging (e.g. printable micro-lenses and complex light-guides, optimized stages, hardware triggers, exposures, etc.); 4) custom-written drivers and work-flows; and 5) machine-learning integrated into multiple stages of data-acquisition and processing.

You will recruit and manage a small staff group to help test and enhance microscope performance. We expect multiple publications and patents to be produced as a result of this work, in which you will participate as appropriate.

The ideal candidate will have broad experience in optical physics, control theory, hardware design, programming, and robotics.

Key responsibilities:

1.Optical design and assembly of super-resolution microscopes for live-cell imaging.

2.Develop hardware and software for ultra-fast, ultra-high-throughput imaging.

3.Implementation and testing of imaging systems to measure microbial growth in microfluidic devices.

4.Develop and validate image pre-processing routines for image analysis, including machine learning techniques.

5.Develop and document microscopy workflow and protocols.

6.Produce reports on progress for funder; participate in writing patents and publications.

7.Recruit, train and manage 2-3 support staff.