Laser Safety Engineer

Summary

Laser Systems is QuEras horizontal laser infrastructure program. The team owns the full lifecycle of laser systems across all machine generations and across our sites in the US Japan and the UK.

The Laser Safety Engineer owns end-to-end lasersafety bydesign. The work sits at the architecture and design stage where protection is layered into the system: optics and coatingselection beam path routing containment scattered light detection interlocks and access control. Protective eyewear sits last in that order behind the engineering controls above it.

Scope begins at the light source and follows the beam through free space and optical fiber to wherever the light is used. It covers heterogeneous setups on optical tables and off them in rack-mounted chassis and on free-standing benches whether deployed under build or in development.

Designs from HQ reach QuEra sites worldwide. The role works with the Laser Safety Officers and the local scientists and engineers in the UK and Japan and with QuEras Laser Safety Officer in Facilities who holds the regulatory role and site-wide program authority.

Responsibilities

Safety by Design

• Own beam path safety review as a formal design gate for laser modules and systems covering parasitic and scattered paths as well as primary paths
• Specify layered protection at the design stage: optics and coatingselection beam containment enclosures beam dumps and stray light management
• Address fiber-borne hazards including connector and end-face integrity uncontrolled emission from damaged or disconnected fiber andhigh powerfiber delivery
• Define scattered and stray radiation detection including sensorselection placement thresholds and integration with system telemetry

Controls and Interlocks

• Design interlock and access control architecture across enclosures doors and emergency stop with fail-safe behavior and machine-readable interlock state for automated operation
• Retrofit containment and interlocks on deployed setups

Verification and Operations

• Perform hazard analysis definelaser controlledarea boundaries and write laser safety acceptance criteria into module and system acceptance test procedures
• Run hazard surveys and periodic spot checks across setups investigate incidents and near misses and specify PPE by area

Standards and Global Alignment

• Own laser safety standards for the team across ANSI Z136 IEC and BS EN 60825 and JIS C 6802 and align QuEra practice across the three regimes
• Work with the Laser Safety Officers and the local scientists and engineers at our UK and Japan sites to select protection methods per configuration review local builds and audit on site

Collaboration

• Partner with Scientists Engineers and Facilities so that safety requirements are coherently applied in design

Qualifications

• B.S. or M.S. in Physics Optical Engineering Electrical Engineering Mechanical Engineering or a related field; equivalent hands-on experience will be considered
• Hands-on experience with Class 3B and Class 4 laser systems including high power sources
• Laser safety engineering built and used on real hardware such as containment interlocks or hazard analysis
• Working knowledge of ANSI Z136 or IEC 60825 and experience applying them to non-standard system configurations
• Competence in optical power measurement beam characterization and stray light assessment
• Credibility with practicing laser scientists and engineers and clear written and verbal communication

Preferred Qualifications

• Certified Laser Safety Officer or equivalent formal laser safety training; support is available to pursue certification
• Experience with fiber amplifiers frequency conversion or free-space high power delivery
• Experience in research or prototype environments where hardware configurations changefrequently
• Background in AMO experiments cold atom or quantum hardware platforms
• Experience coordinating safety practice across multiple international sites
• Experience defining safety requirements for automated or software-controlled hardware

The approximate base salary range for this position is

We consistently monitor external market data and update base salary ranges accordingly. We determine base compensation decisions on several factors including as geographic placement role-specific knowledge skills and/or addition to our base salary offerings we also provide equity grants for all new hires.

QuEra is committed to cultivating a diverse work environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We highly value diversity in our current and future employees and do not discriminate (including in our hiring and promotion practices) based on race religion color national origin gender gender expression sexual orientation age marital status veteran status disability status or any other characteristic protected by law.

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