Field Service Engineer - Scientific Lasers - Rochester, NY

Job Description

Job Description

Field Service Engineer – Scientific Lasers – Rochester, NY (2 positions)

Location: Rochester, NY. Based at the company's North American headquarters with approximately 50–60% travel to customer sites, mostly across the US and Canada, with some international installations. Trips are typically two to three days mid-week; weekend travel is avoided. Relocation assistance is available for the right candidate.

Compensation: $65–90k base salary, commensurate with education and experience

Benefits: 100% employer-paid medical and dental, life and long-term disability insurance, 401(k) with company match up to 6%, PTO, 12 paid holidays and a year-end shutdown between Christmas and New Year

Contact: Andrew Millar; View email address on ziprecruiter.com ; View phone number on ziprecruiter.com

Iris Scientific is a specialty recruitment agency laser focused on the North American Scientific Instrumentation Industry.

We're partnering with the North American arm of a leading manufacturer of scientific laser systems to hire two Field Service Engineers for its Rochester, NY headquarters. The company's lasers are used in quantum technology, atomic physics, materials research, semiconductor metrology and biophotonics, and the installed base across North America is growing fast. One role backfills a departing senior engineer; the second is pure growth.

How the role is structured

• This is a hybrid field and office role. Roughly half your time is on the road installing new systems and supporting customers on site; the other half is at the Rochester headquarters handling remote technical support by ticket, phone and email, and working alongside the rest of the service team.
• Installations are the largest part of the field work. Customers are mostly university and government research labs, plus a growing base of commercial OEM and quantum-technology accounts with service contracts.
• The company builds one of its flagship laser platforms in the US, and this team installs and services it worldwide. Travel can include Europe and Asia for the right person.
• Training is mostly hands-on. You'll start by shadowing a senior engineer, move onto the support ticket queue, and be trained in-house on the most common systems. Training on specialised platforms takes place at the parent company's headquarters in Europe.

The work

• Install new laser systems at customer sites and bring them to specification
• Remote troubleshooting and technical support for customers across North America
• On-site diagnosis and repair of tunable diode lasers (external-cavity diode lasers), frequency-converted systems and terahertz platforms
• Optical alignment, laser locking and stabilisation, and the associated control electronics
• Routine maintenance visits under service contracts, and in-house diagnostics on returned systems
• Clear, professional communication with scientists and engineers, including when a system is down and the pressure is on

Who we're looking for

The ideal candidate is a recent master's graduate in physics, optics or a related field with hands-on experience operating or building tunable diode laser systems. We're equally interested in:

• A bachelor's graduate in physics, optical engineering or electrical engineering who has done real laser-lab work, in a research project, co-op or first industry role
• An early-career applications, test or service engineer at a laser or photonics company looking to move into a broader, customer-facing role
• A sharp, independent technician with an associate degree in laser or electro-optic technology and a track record of figuring things out without a manual
• Military electronics technicians (avionics, radar, electro-optics) with a later degree or equivalent hands-on experience

In every case, what matters is the combination of optical hands-on and electronics troubleshooting. Half of what this team deals with is optical; the other half is electronics, noise and locks. You'll follow procedures where they exist and reason from first principles where they don't.

You'll thrive here if you enjoy:

• Walking into a lab you've never seen, with a problem nobody has fully diagnosed, and working it out
• Aligning optics and chasing noise in control loops with equal comfort
• Saying “I don't know yet, let me find out” to a demanding customer and then delivering
• Travel. This job sends you to some of the best physics labs in the world
• Being part of a small, capable team where your contribution is visible

What you bring:

• Hands-on experience aligning and operating lasers and optical setups; tunable diode lasers, frequency doubling, laser locking or spectroscopy experience is a strong plus
• Practical electronics and RF troubleshooting: oscilloscopes, PID and servo loops, phase-locked loops, signal chains
• A genuine troubleshooting mind and the ability to work independently without scripted procedures
• Strong communication skills and composure with technically sophisticated customers
• Bachelor's or master's degree in physics, optics, photonics, electrical engineering or a related discipline; associate degree in laser or electro-optic technology with strong hands-on experience also considered
• Willingness and ability to travel 50–60%, including occasional international trips
• Ability to lift and move 50 lbs and work safely at customer sites
• Authorization to work in the US without current or future sponsorship. US citizenship is strongly preferred, as the role includes access to government laboratories.

If this sounds like you, or you know someone who is, let's talk.