Senior Optical Engineer Job in Itasca, Illinois Us

Location: Zurich, Switzerland or Itasca, IL, U.S.A.

Knowles Electronics, a member of the Dover Corporation, is the leading global manufacturer of high performance, subminiature microphones and speakers. Knowles is the pioneer of MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) microphones – and is the largest producer of surface mount microphones in the world!

For more than sixty years, Knowles’ RD professionals have continually been at the forefront of subminiature technology, creating technology-driven, high quality products. At Knowles, product innovation, quality, delivery and service are our core values. Knowles’ headquarters is located in Itasca, IL and has manufacturing facilities in Vienna, China and Malaysia.

Knowles GmbH was created at the beginning of 2010 to facilitate further expansion of Knowles’ product portfolio. The fast-growing team is developing exciting new optics technologies for consumer electronics products, initially targeting the hand held electronics market.

Reporting to the Research and Development Manager, the Senior Optical Engineer will be responsible for all optical design activities. The central focus of the position will be creating, optimizing and tolerancing optical designs for maximum performance for novel, miniaturized products incorporating leading-edge technologies. This key role is wide-ranging, covering research and development, part specification, testing, failure analysis and corrective action planning. This position will work with Hardware, Firmware, Process, Software and Test Engineers as well as Commodity Management to deliver optimized optical systems.

Working as part of the small, fast-moving team, the Senior Optical Engineer is expected to work proactively and independently, while maintaining an excellent level of communication with both the local and global development teams.

• Lead, direct and manage optical design
• Working through ZEMAX define optical part specifications and tolerancing
• Analyze compliance with product requirements, identify and mitigate areas of risk
• Maintain prints, engineering specifications, bills of materials, operational standards, and work instructions
• Specify equipment, assess suppliers and key technologies
• Work with Process Engineering to optimize design and assembly
• Support FAEs in matching customer requirements with company capabilities
• Work with customers in defining next generation products
 

• MSc Degree in Engineering, Physics or related discipline with specialization in optics
• 10 years experience in optical design for high volume, tight tolerance devices
• Proven computer skills: extensive ZEMAX experience is a must with experience in MATLAB, Mathematica and COMSOL an advantage
• Global manufacturing experience is desirable
• Excellent organizational skills and initiative
• Ability to work independently and have strong project management skills
• Fluent written and spoken English. German a distinct advantage
• International travel required, up to 15%


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