Quantum Lab Technician

About the Role

Mesa Quantum is seeking a Quantum Lab Technician to establish and own the component-level characterization capability that will underpin the qualification of our atomic clock and atomic sensor product lines. This role is a foundational hire: the person who builds Mesa Quantum's ability to characterize photonic and atomic components at volume, with the throughput, rigor, and traceability that a scaling quantum hardware company demands.

At the component level, two device types are central to this role: Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) and alkali vapor cells. These are not supporting elements; they are the optical and atomic core of our sensing architecture. Bringing structured, repeatable, high-throughput characterization of these components in-house is a strategic priority, and this hire will lead that build-out.

Key Responsibilities

VCSEL Component Characterization

• Establish and execute high-throughput L-I-V-T characterization workflows for quantum-optimized VCSELs across defined operating conditions and device lots
• Perform spectral characterization: center wavelength, current and temperature tuning coefficients, side-mode suppression, polarization extinction ratio and single-mode stability across production-representative sample sizes
• Conduct polarization state measurements and polarization extinction ratio assessments across device populations to support statistical yield analysis
• Perform reliability and environmental characterization workflows including burn-in, temperature cycling, and accelerated aging protocols
• Process and track device batches through defined test sequences, maintaining lot-level data traceability from incoming inspection through final disposition

Vapor Cell Component Characterization and Activation

• Execute absorption spectroscopy-based characterization of alkali vapor cells to assess buffer gas ratios, optical depth, and transmission quality against defined acceptance criteria
• Perform controlled vapor cell activation protocols: applying defined thermal and optical stimulation sequences to condition cell behavior, verify alkali mobilization, and confirm stable steady-state absorption profiles
• Execute hermeticity verification and optical window quality checks as part of incoming and post-activation inspection workflows
• Maintain detailed activation and characterization logs for each cell, supporting lot genealogy and enabling correlation of cell performance to downstream atomic sensor behavior
• Operate atomic spectroscopy reference setups to calibrate and validate cell measurement systems

Characterization Infrastructure and Quality

• Develop, document, and maintain SOPs for all characterization workflows, ensuring measurement repeatability, equipment traceability, and alignment with product acceptance criteria
• Write and maintain scripts for data acquisition, batch logging, and automated reporting to support high-throughput processing
• Track and trend component-level performance data across lots and generate summary reports that support engineering review, supplier feedback, and qualification decisions
• Identify measurement anomalies, equipment drift, or out-of-spec results, then document and escalate with clear technical context
• Maintain calibrated, organized laboratory environments and execute routine equipment checks and preventive maintenance schedules

Requirements

Required Qualifications

• B.S. with 6+ years, M.S. with 2+ years, or Ph.D. with relevant industry experience in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, Optics, Photonics, Materials Science, or a related field.
• Hands-on laboratory experience with free-space optical test setups and detector-based measurement systems
• Familiarity with standard photonics instrumentation: optical spectrum analyzers, source-measure units, temperature controllers, photodetectors, and oscilloscopes
• Experience analyzing and processing experimental datasets using Python, MATLAB, LabVIEW, or similar tools
• Demonstrated ability to develop, document, and execute repeatable measurement procedures with clear traceability
• Strong organizational skills and comfort managing multiple device lots through parallel test workflows

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct hands-on characterization experience with VCSELs (or closely related semiconductor lasers), including measurements of L-I-V-T, spectral, noise, modulation, and/or polarization
• Experience working with atomic vapor cell-based devices or systems such as atomic clocks, atomic magnetometers, or atomic frequency references, including familiarity with activation, conditioning, or spectroscopic evaluation workflows
• Familiarity with alkali spectroscopy techniques: transmission spectroscopy, absorption profile fitting, or optical depth characterization of akali vapor
• Experience in a QA, qualification, or production test environment with structured documentation requirements and lot-level traceability
• Prior experience building or scaling a characterization capability, including establishing new test benches, writing SOPs, or transitioning measurements from research to repeatable workflow

About You

You are equally comfortable behind a free-space optical bench as you are in a spreadsheet tracking lot yield trends. You do not just log anomalies; you document them precisely enough that an engineer can act on them without asking follow-up questions.

You are not here to do one-off experiments. You are here to build the measurement infrastructure that a quantum hardware company needs to qualify components at scale. You take pride in the rigor of your process, the cleanliness of your data, and the reliability of your output. When you say a device passed qualification, everyone can trust that.

Most importantly, you are motivated by what this work enables: atomic sensors and atomic clocks that perform where GPS cannot, in defense systems, critical infrastructure, and next-generation autonomous platforms. That context sharpens your attention to detail, because you understand what is downstream of the components you are characterizing.

About Mesa Quantum

Mesa Quantum is building chip-scale atomic clocks and quantum atomic sensors to enable resilient Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) and next-generation sensing for real-world applications. Our team spans quantum physics, photonics, microfabrication, systems engineering, and commercialization. We work closely with partners across defense, aerospace, and commercial sectors to bring atomic sensing technologies out of the lab and into the field.