Instrumentation Engineer

Job Description

Electrical Engineer III - Cryogenic Instrumentation

About xLight

xLight is building the world's most powerful laser to revolutionize semiconductor lithography, metrology, and for other critical applications. Our approach harnesses the power of free-electron lasers, building on accelerator technology in use globally at scientific user facilities. Extending this technology, we are developing industrial-grade light sources, engineered for continuous operation, to meet the sophisticated demands of next-generation patterning, metrology, and inspection applications. Join us in this new revolution.

We hire exceptional talent — and exceptional means more than a strong résumé. How we achieve results is just as important as the results themselves, which is why attitude and character matter as much as technical skill. We believe great talent is widely distributed, not confined to a particular school or background. We seek individuals who demonstrate ownership, a spirit of collaboration, technical curiosity, and a genuine willingness to learn and grow — guided by our core values of Respect, Integrity, Creativity, and Engineering Excellence. We don't just hire for what someone can do today. We hire for who they are and who they are becoming.

What We Need — and Why It Matters

We are hiring a Cryogenic Instrumentation Engineer to design and integrate the full instrumentation package inside our RF cryomodules — temperature, liquid-level, flow, and pressure sensors, together with the wiring harnesses, mounting hardware, and feedthroughs that make them read accurately and survive both cryogenic operation and volume production.

This is an electromechanical role at heart. You will bring an electronics and instrumentation foundation and a strong mechanical, hands-on instinct for how parts mount, route, and get assembled. Design for manufacturing is central: your designs must be repeatable, technician-friendly, and reliable across a production run of cryomodules, not one-off lab builds.

What You'll Do

Sensor selection & design

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• Select, specify, and where necessary design the in-cryomodule sensor suite: cryogenic thermometry (e.g., Cernox, RTDs, silicon diodes), superconducting liquid-helium level sensors, flow and pressure instrumentation, and heaters.
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• Determine sensor placement in coordination with the cryogenics, Superconducting Radio Frequency (SRF), and systems teams that define what must be measured and where.
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• Design mounting, fastening, and thermal anchoring / heatsinking so sensors read accurately while minimizing heat leak into the cold mass.
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Wiring harness & cabling design

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• Design cryogenic wiring harnesses end to end: low-thermal-conductivity lead wires (e.g., phosphor bronze, manganin), routing, strain relief, thermal intercepts, and lead heatsinking.
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• Specify and integrate connectors and vacuum/cryogenic feedthroughs; define pinouts, wiring schedules, and cable-management schemes.
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Design for manufacturing

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• Develop designs that scale to production — sensible tolerances, robust fastening, clear assembly sequences, and high first-pass yield.
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• Produce the full design package: drawings, BOMs, harness/wiring diagrams, and assembly work instructions.
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Build, test & iterate

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• Support fabrication, assembly, and cold testing; troubleshoot instrumentation issues and feed lessons learned back into the design.
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• Interface across cryogenics, SRF/RF, vacuum, controls, and mechanical engineering to keep the instrumentation package integrated with the larger cryomodule.
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What We Are Looking For

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• BS in electrical, instrumentation, mechatronics, or mechanical engineering (or equivalent experience).
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• Sensor / instrumentation design experience, including wiring harness or cable design.
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• Demonstrated design-for-manufacturing / design-for-assembly experience — hardware you have taken from concept into repeatable production.
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• Comfort working across the electrical–mechanical boundary: reading and producing both schematics/wiring diagrams and mechanical drawings, and making sound fastening, tolerancing, and packaging decisions.
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• CAD and technical-documentation proficiency (mechanical CAD plus harness/wiring documentation, BOMs, and work instructions).
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And If You Bring This — Even Better

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• Cryogenic instrumentation experience — cryo thermometry, liquid-helium level sensing, cryogenic wiring practice, and heat-leak minimization.
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• SRF cryomodule, accelerator, or large-scale physics / superconducting-magnet experience.
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• Ultra-high-vacuum-compatible design, vacuum feedthroughs, and clean-assembly practice.
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• Familiarity with cryogenic sensor and thermometry vendors and their integration practices (e.g., Lake Shore Cryotronics).
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• Experience with cold testing, thermal cycling, and instrumentation qualification.
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What You Can Expect from Us

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• 100% Company-funded health insurance for employee
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• Company funded Life Insurance and disability insurance
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• 401k contribution. 100% up to 3% of compensation, plus 50% match between 3% and 5%. Immediately vested.
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• Flexible Paid Time-Off, Sick leave and Company Holidays
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• Company Paid Two-weeks Winter Break
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• Flexible Hybrid Work Model
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• Chef prepared Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner at Palo Alto office
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Pay transparency

The pay range for this position reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries at commencement of employment and is expected to be between USD 110,000/year-165,000/year. However, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple factors, including role, job-related knowledge, skills, relevant education and experience. The total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including equity, and a full range of benefits. Details of all benefits will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment.

EEO Statement

xLight Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our policy is clear: there shall be no discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, race, religion or belief, gender reassignment, marriage/civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity, or sexual orientation. We are an inclusive organization and actively promote equality of opportunity for all with the right mix of talent, skills and potential. We welcome all applications from a wide range of candidates. Selection for roles will be based on individual merit alone.