Vision Research Specialist

Vision Research Scientist

Join The HOYA Vision Care Team!

For over 60 years, HOYA Vision Care has been a passionate leader in optical technology innovation. As a manufacturer of high quality, high performing eyeglass lenses, we continuously aim to bring the best possible vision care solutions to eye care professionals.

We are currently hiring a Vision Research Scientist in our Ramsey, MN location!

Salary Range: $140K+

What's in it for you?

• Health/Dental/Vision/Disability Insurance
• Tuition Reimbursement
• 401K plans
• PTO and Paid Holidays
• And more!

About the Role

We are expanding our internal Vision Science Program to accelerate early discovery, deepen our understanding of human visual performance, and shape the future of premium ophthalmic lens design. As our Vision Research Specialist, you will lead our vision performance clinic that drives new insights, testing breakthrough ideas, and translating human visual behavior into next-generation optical solutions.

As an optometrist you will blend clinical optometry, applied vision science, rapid experimentation, and cross-functional collaboration. You will design and execute exploratory studies, measure subjective performance metrics, and provide the scientific insights that shape our understanding of improved vision performance through design innovation.

Core Role Summary

Lead early-stage vision science research and rapid clinical experimentation to understand how lens designs interact with binocular vision and neural processing. Their primary responsibility is to design, execute, and interpret in-clinic testing of experimental and pre-commercial lens concepts, using both established and newly invented objective performance metrics.

What You'll Do

• Clinical optometric evaluations on human-subjects to test the performance of early lens designs and the execution, validation, and documentation of experimental, pre-commercial, and early-launch ophthalmic lens concepts.
• This role applies process validation principles (IQ–OQ–PQ) to clinical research workflows, ensuring that vision performance outcomes are repeatable, auditable, ethically conducted, and scientifically defensible.
• The position is not a patient-care role. It is a testing, validation, and evidence-generation role, operating under regulated research principles including HIPAA, IRB oversight, Good Clinical Practice (GCP), and internal Quality Management System (QMS) requirements.
• Clinical pilot study designs and reports
• Objective performance datasets comparing lens concepts
• Validated testing protocols and metric frameworks
• Clear performance narratives linking lens design to wearer outcomes
• Early scientific insights that shape future product roadmaps

Required Qualifications

• OD, licensed to practice in the state of Minnesota (full time or part time), with experience in binocular vision, visual psychophysics, optical science, neuro-vision, or related field
• Experience designing and conducting clinical or experimental research
• Strong analytical skills, comfort with data modeling and statistical reasoning
• Ability to translate science into practical, commercially relevant insights to create category leadership
• Working knowledge of refraction, lens design principles, and visual performance metrics
• Ability to translate science into practical, commercially relevant insights to create category leadership

HOYA Group: Founded in 1941 in Tokyo, Japan, HOYA Corporation is a global technology and med-tech company and a leading supplier of innovative high-tech and medical products. HOYA's divisions and business units research and develop products utilized in the healthcare and information technology fields. In the healthcare field, we provide medical device products such as eyeglasses, medical endoscopes, contact and intraocular lenses, orthopedic implants, surgical/therapeutic devices and medical device reprocessing and disinfection solutions. In the information technology field, we provide products such as optical lenses, photomasks and blanks used in the manufacturing process for semiconductor and LCD/OLED devices, text-to-speech, human resources and other software solutions and critical components for the mass memory and cloud storage industries. With over 150 offices and subsidiaries worldwide, HOYA currently employs a multinational workforce of 37,000 people.

HOYA Vision Care: As a global leader in optical technology, HOYA Vision Care is dedicated to providing innovative vision care solutions for every stage of a patient's life. A steadfast partner to Eye Care Professionals around the world, it stands at the forefront of optical excellence. With a global presence, consisting of 43 laboratories and a growing team of 20,000 employees, HOYA Vision Care delivers innovative lenses and other vision care solutions to millions of people in 110 countries. We focus on a better tomorrow, today. You can become part of our story. HOYA Vision Care is the place where you can act according to your strengths and evolve according to your aspirations. It's a place where you can shape the way you work, guided by our CLEAR Values, and empowered by generations of expertise. You can get involved in our sustainability initiatives and choose to become a One Vision ambassador. You can give back the gift of sight to people all over the world by deciding to work with us. We welcome people who challenge us to become better, who share our sense of purpose and who embrace growth so that our vision and mission align. We invite you to find out more, and together we can continue to provide vision for a lifetime.

Driven by a passion for partnership as well as innovation, HOYA has been a partner to Eye Care Professionals for over 75 years, enabling them to give people the greatest gift, the gift of vision. We provide Eye Care Professionals with the lenses, consultation solutions and other services that help them to develop their practice while changing the way people see the world. We see them as visionaries, and everything we do is for them. Founded in Japan in 1941, today, HOYA has a presence in over 80 countries across the globe.