High-Precision Optics Fabrication Process Development Engineer

Scope of Position

The position is in the Advanced Optics surface finishing and optical fabrication development group based in Rochester, NY.  The scope of this position is the development of new capabilities and technologies for the fabrication of optics.  The individual will be working closely with other optical fabrication process and metrology development team SMEs, supporting the group objective of developing novel optical fabrication processes and expanding Corning’s optical manufacturing capability for the highest precision optics going into semiconductor inspection instruments.

The role involves developing innovative optical manufacturing technologies for high-precision optical elements (lenses, mirrors, prisms, etc.) from conception to transfer to manufacturing.   Experience with brittle material finishing, chemical mechanical polishing is required. The candidate will aim for a thorough understanding of optical fabrication techniques, solve problems, and improve processes as part of a team using structured problem-solving methods such as KT, DOEs, etc.

The individual will be responsible to develop and maintain a scientific network inside and outside of the corporation and it is expected that the candidate will assist with inquiries about optical fabrication from across the division and from research.
 

The candidate is expected to document results by authoring internal/external reports and filing invention disclosure.

Day-to-Day Responsibilities

• Use sound scientific and engineering principles when analyzing optical fabrication processes experimental results.
• Work to deepen fundamental understanding of the optical fabrication processes to expand Corning’s ability to fabricate and manufacture the most demanding optics in the world.
• Hands on development of new polishing processes for glass, crystals and other optical substrates, and optical components including flats, spheres, aspheres, and freeform. This includes the manufacture of optics for customer prototype lens & mirror systems.
• Scope out technical risk and challenges for high-precision component fabrication of prototype and development commercial opportunities.
• Work with finance, procurement, and plant engineering to quantify the value proposition of different optical fabrication process flow options including return on investment calculation for capital acquisitions.
• Communicate results to peers, management, and technology receivers. 
• Develop documentation and assist with the transfer of optical fabrication solutions developed by the development group to division and plant engineering.
• Keep current with technological advances in optical fabrication through scientific literature, conferences, interfacing with appropriate experts, etc.

Required Education and Experience

• B.S. required; M.S., Ph.D. preferred.  Degree concentration in optics, physics preferred.  Will also consider material science, chemistry or STEM concentrations.
• Minimum 5 years of experience with high-precision optical fabrication processes.

• Experience with high-precision optics fabrication for visible and DUV (193 nm – 266 nm) systems.
• Deep knowledge of asphere/freeform optical fabrication techniques including the mathematical foundations of sub-aperture polishing techniques.
• Experience with CNC platforms: grinding, magnetorheological finishing (MRF), ion beam figuring (IBF), sub-aperture pad polishing (bonnet, etc.). 
• Experience with smoothing mid-spatial frequency processes for aspheres and freeform.
• Well-rounded knowledge of conventional pitch and non-pitch based optical material processing methods and equipment.
• Hands on experience fabricating optics on a selection of optical substrate for a variety of applications.
• Demonstrated ability to quantify the cost, schedule, and performance benefits of new processes and develop initial process robustness estimates.  Capable of evaluating the impact of new processses on the whole optical manufacturing chain.
• Deep knowledge and experience of state-of-the-art optical fabrication technologies for finishing brittle optical substrates including fining, and chemical mechanical polishing.
• Good understanding of metrology methods used on high-precision optics and ability to perform basic analysis of metrology data with metrology SMEs.

Desired Technical Skills

• Experience with EUV and X-ray optics is highly desirable. 
• Experience with diamond-turning of optics would be beneficial.
• Experience with metal/metal alloy substrates would be beneficial.
• Ability to operate in a cleanroom environment is welcome.
• Knowledge of optical surface cleaning processes and surface contamination principles is a plus.
• Basic understanding of the potential impact of coating on optical surface performance (figure, roughness, etc.).
• Basic understanding of the impact of environment on optics finishing processes.
• Basic knowledge of material and surface characterization methods (microscopy, SEM, X-ray diffraction, fluid composition, particle size distribution, etc.)
• Experience with acid etching of optical substrates.
• Application of Design of Experiment (DOE) and statistical data analysis methods.
• Ability to perform data analysis in some of MatLab, Python, Origin Pro, JMP, QED.NET Toolkit or similar software platforms will be helpful.
• Ability to work with G-code or similar machine control languages.
• Basic experience with some program scheduling software tools.