Optical Engineer

Quick Facts

• Role: Optical Engineer (Smart Intelligence Team)
• Location: Cartersville, GA

Description

Own the optical design and inspection performance of vision inspection systems across solar manufacturing processes. You will specify illumination, lens, and camera configurations for defect types, install and commission inspection systems on the production line, and build the vision software around the optics (camera control, image acquisition, AI inference server interface, and an operator on-floor viewer). You will also evaluate new inspection capabilities and continuously track metrics such as over-kill rate and miss rate.

Responsibilities

• Design inspection optics per defect type, including illumination (wavelength, angle, uniformity), lens, field of view, resolution, and camera/sensor selection; finalize installation specs with mechanical and controls engineering
• Install and commission inspection systems on the production line: mounting, alignment, focus and lighting setup, and image-quality acceptance criteria
• Lead proof-of-concept evaluation for new inspection capability (vendor assessment, bench trials, detection-limit measurement, production readiness decisions)
• Own optical specifications for new inspection lines end-to-end (vendor selection, incoming acceptance testing, commissioning)
• Quantify and track inspection performance (over-kill rate, miss rate, detection coverage); define the evaluation sample set and labels
• Set and maintain detection thresholds and judgment criteria with process/quality engineering
• Monitor and correct image quality in production (focus/brightness drift, field-of-view alignment, tool-to-tool variation, line-to-line standardization)
• Perform root-cause attribution for rising over-kill/miss rates (optical vs process vs model causes) with AI, process, and equipment engineering
• Develop and maintain the vision application around the optics: triggering, image acquisition, preprocessing, and AI inference server interfacing at line speed
• Build and maintain the on-floor viewer for operators and engineers (live images/results, defect review and re-judgment, past inspection lookup, threshold configuration)
• Support inspection across EL, front-end and back-end AOI, string/solder joint inspection, final visual inspection, wafer surface and saw-mark inspection, and real-time image metrology (visible, near-infrared, laser-based)

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Optical Engineering, Optical Sciences, Photonics, Imaging Science, Applied Physics, or Electrical Engineering with an optics/imaging emphasis
• 3+ years of relevant experience
• Machine-vision optical design experience for defect inspection (illumination, lenses, cameras)
• Hands-on production-line experience installing, aligning, and commissioning inspection systems
• Experience specifying requirements and working directly with industrial camera and illumination suppliers
• Proven ability to quantify inspection performance (over-kill/miss rates, threshold setting, before-and-after verification)
• Working proficiency in C#, C++, or Python for vision applications and operator screens
• Collaboration skills with colleagues, customers, suppliers, and stakeholders from varied technical backgrounds

Benefits

• Equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all applicants and employees without regard to protected characteristics.