Optical Engineer Precision Instrumentation
Astera Institute is an active nonprofit research institute and foundation that operates in-house neuroscience-informed AI research and funds, operates, and supports open-science programs and public goods.
About Astera Institute
Astera operates three divisions: Neuro-AI, Radial life-sciences research, and its Foundation. Its AI work pursues neuroscience-informed approaches to artificial general intelligence, while its foundation and Radial activities support open scientific infrastructure, datasets, research programs, and residencies.
Skills
Candidate Availability
Required and preferred rules are kept separate and reflect the wording in the original posting.
About the Role
You will design, build, and iterate precision optical instruments for neuroscience experiments. You will develop two-photon imaging and photostimulation microscopes, integrate electronics, control hardware, and software, and take complex instruments from concept through reliable operation.
Requirements
- Optical engineering
- Biomedical engineering
- Physics
- Precision hardware
- Optical design
- Optical fabrication
- Mechanical design
- Electronics
- Femtosecond laser
- Nonlinear microscopy
- Wavefront engineering
- Optical alignment
- PCB layout
- Embedded system
- Sensor integration
- Actuator integration
- CAD
- CAM
- 3D printing
- Data acquisition
- TTL synchronization
- SPI
Responsibilities
- Design precision optical systems for neuroscience experiments
- Develop miniature two-photon microscopes for imaging and photostimulation
- Build electronics, control hardware, and software for optical systems
- Integrate optical systems with data acquisition and research infrastructure
- Own complex instruments from design through reliable operation
Benefits
- Comprehensive benefits package