Principal I Engineer, Optical
Pacific Biosciences of California

Menlo Park, California
$195,900.00 - $293,900.00 per year


Principal I Engineer, Optical

PacBio is developing state-of-the-art optical systems for the world's most accurate DNA sequencers. The R&D team is seeking a Principal Instrument Optical Engineer to advance cutting-edge optical designs.

As a Principal Instrument Optical Engineer, you will work on the design, commercial sourcing, and qualification of advanced optical layouts comprising high-numeric-aperture lenses, relay systems, high-performance multilayer interference filters, autofocus modules, high-power laser illumination systems, and large-format, high-speed scientific CMOS cameras.

With advanced analytical and computational skills, you will collect and interpret experimental data and present your findings in collaborative meetings with team members from instrument control software, biochemistry, and sequencing integration.

You will integrate and qualify optical systems within sequencing instruments, ensuring these systems meet the high standards required for PacBio's sequencing products. This includes developing models and simulations to correlate optical performance with sequencing performance.

You will work closely with the New Product Introduction (NPI) team, transferring designs into production and tracking optical hardware through the full assembly of sequencing instruments. You will evaluate the reliability and consistency of optical hardware across instruments, ensuring performance benchmarks are met in production environments.

Candidates with experience in single-molecule fluorescence and high-resolution microscopy will bring valuable expertise to this role. These skills include the ability to work with advanced fluorescence imaging techniques, design, build and operate high-sensitivity optical systems, and use high-precision alignment to maximize resolution and uniformity.

Required Qualifications:

  • Typically requires a minimum of 11-14 years of related experience with a Bachelor's degree or 9-12 years with a Master's degree or 8-11 years with a PhD
  • A degree in Optical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Applied Physics, or a related field
  • Hands-on optics lab experience
  • Experience with transferring design into production
  • Proficiency in Zemax (OpticStudio)
  • Proficiency in Matlab or a related tool for data analysis and visualization
  • Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills

Preferred Experience:
  • Experience with high resolution microscopy is preferred
  • Experience with JavaScript is a plus

Non-Field Based Employees are required to be onsite Monday-Thursday (Friday work from home). Depending on the role, some employees may be required to be 100% onsite.

You may be required from time to time to visit and work at PacBio locations and for such times as the Company considers necessary for the proper performance of your duties.

All listed tasks and responsibilities are deemed as essential functions to this position; however, business conditions may require reasonable accommodations for additional tasks and responsibilities.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, sex, color, religion, national origin, protected veteran status, or on the basis of disability, gender identity, and sexual orientation.

#LI-Onsite

Salary Range:
$195,900.00 - $293,900.00

To all Staffing and Recruiting Agencies: Our Careers Site is only for individuals seeking a job at PacBio. Staffing and recruiting agencies and individuals being represented by an agency are not authorized to use this site or to submit profiles, applications or resumes, and any such submissions will be considered unsolicited. PacBio does not accept unsolicited resumes or applications from agencies. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias, PacBio employees or any other company location. PacBio is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes/applications.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, sex, color, religion, national origin, protected veteran status, or on the basis of disability, gender identity, and sexual orientation.

If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process, or are limited in the ability or unable to access or use this online application process and need an alternative method for applying, you may contact us at 650-521-8000, or careers@pacificbiosciences.com for assistance.

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