Optical product development engineer F/H

The company

Founded in 2013, Cailabs designs, manufactures, and develops innovative photonic solutions for the space, industry, telecommunications, and defense sectors. A global specialist in laser shaping, the company has accelerated its growth in the space field with turnkey optical ground stations that integrate atmospheric turbulence compensation technology. This makes it one of the first companies to harness very high data rates enabled by optics in a commercial ground station.

Cailabs currently has more than 200 employees, including 41PhDs. With 29 patent families filed, the company is one of the most innovative companies in France. It is headquartered in Rennes, with offices in Paris and Washington (USA).

Post description

The CANUNDA product line consists of laser beam shaping systems designed to enhance industrial processes such as welding, additive manufacturing, drilling, and surface texturing. Their use in demanding environments requires a high level of reliability, robustness, and repeatability.

As part of the continued development and maturation of this product range, we are looking for an experienced engineer capable of transforming functional prototypes into industrial-grade, reliable, and repeatable products, while supporting their evolution throughout their lifecycle.

Your responsabilities :

Working closely with optical, mechanical, electronics, industrialization, and production engineers and technicians, you will drive the industrial maturation of optical beam-shaping systems, from prototype validation through production transfer and delivery of the first production batches.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Analyzing product designs to identify risks related to manufacturing, assembly, alignment, adjustment, and testing.
• Proposing design improvements to enhance system robustness, repeatability, and maintainability.
• Defining product acceptance criteria and validation plans.
• Establishing and optimizing assembly, alignment, characterization, and validation procedures for optical systems in collaboration with the Industrialization team.
• Designing or improving test benches and inspection tools required for production.
• Supporting the transfer of new products to Production and Industrialization teams.
• Investigating deviations, non-conformities, and technical issues encountered during assembly and testing.
• Leading corrective actions and contributing to continuous improvement of products and processes.
• Participating in qualification testing, customer installations, and field feedback analysis.
• Ensuring technical knowledge capture and documentation throughout the product lifecycle.

Profile required

You hold an Engineering degree or a Master's degree in Optics, Photonics, Applied Physics, or a related field, and ideally have at least five years of experience in the development and industrialization of complex technical products or systems.

You have worked in an industrial environment on multidisciplinary products involving several technical domains. You are familiar with product industrialization challenges, including the transition from prototype to manufacturing, product qualification, reliability, and continuous improvement.

Hands-on experience with optical or laser systems is required. In particular, you are comfortable with:

• Integration, alignment, and characterization of free-space optical systems.
• Development and optimization of test benches.
• Experimental data analysis.
• Product qualification and validation activities.
• Technical problem-solving in a production environment.
• Collaboration with design, industrialization, quality, and production teams.
• Writing procedures, test protocols, and technical documentation.

Autonomous and pragmatic, you are able to analyze complex problems, structure action plans, and coordinate resolution activities across multiple disciplines. Your ability to step back from a product design and propose sustainable solutions will be essential.

You are fluent in both French and English, with strong written and verbal communication skills enabling effective interaction with colleagues, customers, and partners.

Nice to have : 

• Experience in industrializing optical or laser-based products.
• Knowledge of high-power lasers and thermal management challenges.
• Experience with laser-based industrial processes.
• Familiarity with opto-mechanical design.
• Experience with product qualification, risk management, or failure analysis methodologies.
• Knowledge of tools such as Zemax, Matlab, or Python.

Avantages

• Opportunities to connect and enjoy time together through company events and social activities (annual seminar, team lunches, group games, sports activities, etc.),
• 100% employer-funded health insurance,
• A bonus scheme rewarding both individual and team performance,
• Joining Cailabs means joining a company committed to helping you perform at your best, continuously develop your skills, and take on new challenges.

Réf: 6dc1f8c2-d7af-4d1e-906d-4d4dee5c7e31