Optical Engineer

Southfield, MI, us on site Until 8/21/2026 First posted March 21, 2025 Last posted March 21, 2025
Job description

Beacon Hill Technologies

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Create innovative exterior and interior lighting systems for Automotive, Commercial Vehicles, and Recreational Vehicles using incandescent, HID, and LED light sources. 

• Ensure that optical designs can be tooled, manufactured, and meet legal and customer requirements within defined tolerances.

• Perform feasibility, and benchmark studies to support quotes, and future marketing.

• Analyze off-tool parts, perform root cause analysis, and assist in certification of lamps. 

• Interface pro-actively with Design Engineers, Electrical Engineers, Tooling Engineers, and Customers. 

• Define and understand legal market requirements for vehicle lighting including: FMVSS 108, ECE, CCC, and SAE standards. 

• Assist in design of manufacturing tools, fixtures and processes that are required to build and service the optical sub-systems. 

• Evaluate parts, optical testing related equipment and vendors related to optical development of lamps. 

• Review all engineering designs that interact with the optical subsystems of company products.

• Optimize designs to improve beam characteristics and overall optical efficiency.

• Evaluate and characterize secondary optical solutions and customer lighting fixtures using optical instrumentation such as a goniometer, optical comparator, spectrometer etc.

• Generate clear and detailed documentation. 

• Work closely with Engineering teams to find solutions to next generation products

• Work with Manufacturing to diagnose complex issues with the company’s products. 



REQUIREMENTS:

• B.S. in Engineering or Applied Physics.

• 4+ yrs. Illumination Optical Design (non-imaging) experience; LED experience highly preferred. 

• Must have LucidShape or similar optical design software experience. 

• CATIA V5, or other 3D CAD experience. 

• Certification/Knowledge of test equipment like Goniometer and integrating sphere. 

• Basic programming experience preferred.

• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written. 

• Well versed in Microsoft office applications. 

• Team player and self-motivated, and be able to thrive in a start-up environment. 

• Balanced judgment to operate within defined procedures and practices to determine appropriate action.

Salary is based on experience

About this role

Summary

Designs and optimizes automotive lighting systems using optical software and testing equipment.

Job title

Optical Engineer

Experience level

4+ years

Industry

automotive

Location requirements

Southfield, MI, US; no remote work mentioned.

Salary

based on experience

Management role

No

Skills & keywords

Required skills

B.S. in Engineering or Applied Physicsillumination optical designLucidShape or similar softwareCATIA V5 or other 3D CADtest equipment like Goniometer and integrating sphere

Preferred skills

basic programming

Specializations

illumination optical designLEDnon-imagingoptical testinglighting
Locations

Structured locations inferred from the posting.

Southfield, MI, USA

On-site City