Onsite 5 days a week – Chiswick, London.
We’rehiring a Senior Optical Engineer to develop custom optics, lens designs and tolerance strategies that moveHoloMem’sproduct development towardsproductionandhelp bring our ambitious first product to market.
AboutHoloMem
AtHoloMem,we’rebuilding the next generation of mass data storage hardware; highly efficient, long life, and ultra durable. Our pioneering and patented holographic technology encodes data as light within advanced polymers, enabling a resilient and future fit alternative to today’s short lived and energy intensive data storage infrastructure.
Over the past 24 monthsHoloMemhas graduated from both the Intel Ignite andDeeptechLabs accelerators, been awarded two Innovate UK Smart Grants, closed a seed+ funding round, and most recently deployed a workingHoloDriveprototype to a live data centre to prove the robustness of our system.
Off the back of our breakthrough partnership with BDT, the world’s largest tape library manufacturer, we now begin the transition from prototype to product, maturing our validated system into a mass-produced technology platform that enablesstate of the artdata storage performance at scale. We have ambitious plans, and we are now scaling up our West London based team to enable them. Join us.
WhatYou’llBe Doing
You’llwork on the optical systems at the heart ofHoloMem’sproduct development, with a core focus onZemax-based optical design, lens design, tolerance analysis, supplier feasibility, productionintentand cost reduction. This is not a purely simulation-based role. You will need to connect optical design decisions to real assemblies, supplier capability, manufacturing constraints, cost,qualityand system performance.
You’llhelp translate product-level requirements into optical performance targets, tolerancebudgetsand practical acceptance criteria, then use simulation, supplierinputand prototype evidence to close the loop between design intent and real-world performance.
You’llwork closely with mechanical engineering so that lens mounting, assembly constraints, thermalbehaviourand design-for-assembly decisions are treated as part of the optical system, not downstream packaging problems.You’lltake ownership of defined optical work packages, review optical design work constructively, and support technical decisions around performance specifications, quality controls, costreductionand design risk.
The Specifics AbouttheRole
This role is suited to a senior optical design engineer who has worked on lenses, camera assemblies, customopticsor comparable optical systems, and who understands what changes when an optical designhas tomove towards production.
This role is suited to a Senior Optical Engineer who can demonstrate the ability to:
- Design, simulate and optimise optical systems usingZemaxOpticStudio
- Develop lens designs, customopticsand beam shaping approaches for production-intent optical systems
- Define,analyseand review optical tolerances, including tolerance stack-up effects across optics,mountingand assembly
- Assess how temperature, material properties and mechanical expansion affect optical alignment, focus or system performance
- Translate optical performance needs into specifications, tolerancebudgetsand acceptance criteria
- Work with mechanical engineers on lens mounting, dense packaging, optomechanical integration and design for assembly
- Connect optical design choices to manufacturability, cost, supplierfeasibilityand technical quality controls
- Work with optics suppliers oncomponentspecification, tolerance feasibility, cost-down and production constraints
- Correlate optical models with prototype data, supplierfeedbackand assembly evidence
- Use Python to support optical analysis, modelling, dataprocessingor design review
- Review optical design work constructively, challenge assumptions and help improve the quality of technical decisions across the team
Who You Are
You are a hands-on optical design engineer who is comfortable working betweenZemaxmodels, lens designs, physical assemblies, supplierconstraintsand cross-functional engineering decisions. You understand that optical performance is not only set by the lens prescription, but by tolerances, mounting, thermal behaviour, assembly process, supplier capability and how the optical system sits inside the product.
You state assumptions clearly, expose the risks in a design and make practical recommendations when the information is incomplete. You are confident enough to challenge existing workconstructively, butgrounded enough to separate real technical risk from personal preference or over-optimisation.
You should enjoy working on problems where time, cost, specification,qualityand scalability all matter at once. This role will suit someone who has seen optical design move towards production and understands the compromisesrequiredto make a system perform reliably outside a clean design file.
Required Experience
- Around 3–5 years of relevant industry experienceinoptical engineering
- Strong experience usingZemaxOpticStudiofor optical design, simulation,optimisationand tolerance analysis
- Experience with lens design for optical systems, camera assemblies, opticalenginesor comparable hardware
- Experience with optical tolerancing and tolerance stack-up analysis
- Experience connecting optical design choices to assembly, cost,qualityand manufacturability
- Experience assessing how mechanical mounting, material properties or temperature can affect optical performance
- Experience working with optics suppliers oncomponentfeasibility, specification, tolerance limits,costor production constraints
- Experience supporting production-intent development of lenses, camera assemblies, customopticsor similar optical hardware
- Ability to work independently on defined technical work packages
- Strong cross-disciplinary communication with mechanical,systemsand hardware engineering teams
- Clear technical documentation and design review discipline
- Experience taking optical products or subassemblies into production
- Experience with camera module development, lens stackdesignor imaging system production
- Experience with beam shaping or custom optics design
- Proficiencywith Python for optical analysis, modelling, simulationsupportor data processing.
- Experience with dense optical packaging or constrained lens mounting
- Experience with FMEA, risk management or structured design review processes
- Broader production engineering experience outside optics
- Familiarity with safety,qualityor production control requirements for optical hardware
- Knowledge of holography or holographic optical systems
- Experience with cost reduction of optical assemblies or custom optical components
- Experience defining performance specifications, acceptancecriteriaor technical quality controls for optical systems
- Experience supporting supplierselection, supplierreviewor manufacturability discussions for optics
Benefits AtHoloMem
- 25 days annual leave
- Employer pension contributions
- A collaborative, knowledgeable team working on deeply technical, world-positive problems
How to Apply
Clickapply or send yourCVtocareers@holomem.co.uk .Show us whatyou’vedesigned, built, or tested. Ifyou’reexcited about the mission,even if youdon’tmeet every requirement,we’dlove to hear from you.
HoloMemis an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and are committed to building an inclusive environment for all.
#J-18808-Ljbffr”, “datePosted”: “2026-05-17”, “hiringOrganization”: { “@type”: “Organization”, “name”: “HoloMem Ltd”, “sameAs”: “https://uk.whatjobs.com/pub_api__cpl__435501521__4861?utm_campaign=publisher&utm_medium=api&utm_source=4861&geoID=33” }, “jobLocation”: { “@type”: “Place”, “address”: { “@type”: “PostalAddress”, “addressLocality”: “London” } } }Onsite 5 days a week – Chiswick, London.
We’rehiring a Senior Optical Engineer to develop custom optics, lens designs and tolerance strategies that moveHoloMem’sproduct development towardsproductionandhelp bring our ambitious first product to market.
AboutHoloMem
AtHoloMem,we’rebuilding the next generation of mass data storage hardware; highly efficient, long life, and ultra durable. Our pioneering and patented holographic technology encodes data as light within advanced polymers, enabling a resilient and future fit alternative to today’s short lived and energy intensive data storage infrastructure.
Over the past 24 monthsHoloMemhas graduated from both the Intel Ignite andDeeptechLabs accelerators, been awarded two Innovate UK Smart Grants, closed a seed+ funding round, and most recently deployed a workingHoloDriveprototype to a live data centre to prove the robustness of our system.
Off the back of our breakthrough partnership with BDT, the world’s largest tape library manufacturer, we now begin the transition from prototype to product, maturing our validated system into a mass-produced technology platform that enablesstate of the artdata storage performance at scale. We have ambitious plans, and we are now scaling up our West London based team to enable them. Join us.
WhatYou’llBe Doing
You’llwork on the optical systems at the heart ofHoloMem’sproduct development, with a core focus onZemax-based optical design, lens design, tolerance analysis, supplier feasibility, productionintentand cost reduction. This is not a purely simulation-based role. You will need to connect optical design decisions to real assemblies, supplier capability, manufacturing constraints, cost,qualityand system performance.
You’llhelp translate product-level requirements into optical performance targets, tolerancebudgetsand practical acceptance criteria, then use simulation, supplierinputand prototype evidence to close the loop between design intent and real-world performance.
You’llwork closely with mechanical engineering so that lens mounting, assembly constraints, thermalbehaviourand design-for-assembly decisions are treated as part of the optical system, not downstream packaging problems.You’lltake ownership of defined optical work packages, review optical design work constructively, and support technical decisions around performance specifications, quality controls, costreductionand design risk.
The Specifics AbouttheRole
This role is suited to a senior optical design engineer who has worked on lenses, camera assemblies, customopticsor comparable optical systems, and who understands what changes when an optical designhas tomove towards production.
This role is suited to a Senior Optical Engineer who can demonstrate the ability to:
- Design, simulate and optimise optical systems usingZemaxOpticStudio
- Develop lens designs, customopticsand beam shaping approaches for production-intent optical systems
- Define,analyseand review optical tolerances, including tolerance stack-up effects across optics,mountingand assembly
- Assess how temperature, material properties and mechanical expansion affect optical alignment, focus or system performance
- Translate optical performance needs into specifications, tolerancebudgetsand acceptance criteria
- Work with mechanical engineers on lens mounting, dense packaging, optomechanical integration and design for assembly
- Connect optical design choices to manufacturability, cost, supplierfeasibilityand technical quality controls
- Work with optics suppliers oncomponentspecification, tolerance feasibility, cost-down and production constraints
- Correlate optical models with prototype data, supplierfeedbackand assembly evidence
- Use Python to support optical analysis, modelling, dataprocessingor design review
- Review optical design work constructively, challenge assumptions and help improve the quality of technical decisions across the team
Who You Are
You are a hands-on optical design engineer who is comfortable working betweenZemaxmodels, lens designs, physical assemblies, supplierconstraintsand cross-functional engineering decisions. You understand that optical performance is not only set by the lens prescription, but by tolerances, mounting, thermal behaviour, assembly process, supplier capability and how the optical system sits inside the product.
You state assumptions clearly, expose the risks in a design and make practical recommendations when the information is incomplete. You are confident enough to challenge existing workconstructively, butgrounded enough to separate real technical risk from personal preference or over-optimisation.
You should enjoy working on problems where time, cost, specification,qualityand scalability all matter at once. This role will suit someone who has seen optical design move towards production and understands the compromisesrequiredto make a system perform reliably outside a clean design file.
Required Experience
- Around 3–5 years of relevant industry experienceinoptical engineering
- Strong experience usingZemaxOpticStudiofor optical design, simulation,optimisationand tolerance analysis
- Experience with lens design for optical systems, camera assemblies, opticalenginesor comparable hardware
- Experience with optical tolerancing and tolerance stack-up analysis
- Experience connecting optical design choices to assembly, cost,qualityand manufacturability
- Experience assessing how mechanical mounting, material properties or temperature can affect optical performance
- Experience working with optics suppliers oncomponentfeasibility, specification, tolerance limits,costor production constraints
- Experience supporting production-intent development of lenses, camera assemblies, customopticsor similar optical hardware
- Ability to work independently on defined technical work packages
- Strong cross-disciplinary communication with mechanical,systemsand hardware engineering teams
- Clear technical documentation and design review discipline
- Experience taking optical products or subassemblies into production
- Experience with camera module development, lens stackdesignor imaging system production
- Experience with beam shaping or custom optics design
- Proficiencywith Python for optical analysis, modelling, simulationsupportor data processing.
- Experience with dense optical packaging or constrained lens mounting
- Experience with FMEA, risk management or structured design review processes
- Broader production engineering experience outside optics
- Familiarity with safety,qualityor production control requirements for optical hardware
- Knowledge of holography or holographic optical systems
- Experience with cost reduction of optical assemblies or custom optical components
- Experience defining performance specifications, acceptancecriteriaor technical quality controls for optical systems
- Experience supporting supplierselection, supplierreviewor manufacturability discussions for optics
Benefits AtHoloMem
- 25 days annual leave
- Employer pension contributions
- A collaborative, knowledgeable team working on deeply technical, world-positive problems
How to Apply
Clickapply or send yourCVtocareers@holomem.co.uk .Show us whatyou’vedesigned, built, or tested. Ifyou’reexcited about the mission,even if youdon’tmeet every requirement,we’dlove to hear from you.
HoloMemis an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and are committed to building an inclusive environment for all.
#J-18808-Ljbffr…