Senior Optical Systems Engineer

Senior Systems Engineer

Date: Aug 26, 2026

Location: Fairport, NY, US, 14450

Company: Corning

Requisition Number: 77603

The company built on breakthroughs. Join us. Corning is one of the world's leading innovators in glass, ceramic, and materials science. From the depths of the ocean to the farthest reaches of space, our technologies push the boundaries of what's possible. How do we do this? With our people. They break through limitations and expectations – not once in a career, but every day. They help move our company, and the world, forward.

At Corning, there are endless possibilities for making an impact. You can help connect the unconnected, drive the future of automobiles, transform at-home entertainment, and ensure the delivery of lifesaving medicines. And so much more.

Come break through with us. The Specialty Materials segment manufactures products that provide more than 150 material formulations for glass, glass ceramics and fluoride crystals to meet demand for unique customer needs. Consequently, this segment operates in a wide variety of commercial and industrial markets that include display optics and components, semiconductor optics components, aerospace and defense, astronomy, ophthalmic products, telecommunications components and cover glass that is optimized for portable display devices.

Position Summary

We are seeking a Systems Engineer to develop and manage product requirements for advanced semiconductor inspection and metrology optical systems. This role is responsible for translating customer specifications and internal performance targets into clear, testable system and subsystem requirements, and ensuring proper flow-down across optical, mechanical, electrical, software, and manufacturing disciplines. The ideal candidate has experience working in fast-paced commercial environments, balancing aggressive performance, cost, and schedule constraints while maintaining rigorous requirements traceability and verification.

Key Responsibilities

• Requirements Development & Flow-Down
• Analyze customer specifications, tool requirements, and statements of work to derive complete and verifiable system requirements
• Develop and maintain: system-level performance and functional requirements, subsystem and component-level requirements for optics, illumination, mechanics, electronics, software, and algorithms
• Ensure requirements are: quantitative, unambiguous, and verifiable, aligned with customer acceptance criteria and internal development standards
• System Architecture & Technical Execution
• Define and maintain system architecture and interfaces across multidisciplinary teams
• Allocate performance budgets (optical, thermal, mechanical stability, timing, reliability)
• Lead technical trade studies to support architecture and design decisions
• Support system-level modeling, error budgets, and margin analysis
• Identify and mitigate technical risks related to performance, manufacturability, and cost
• Verification, Validation & Manufacturing Support
• Define verification and validation (V&V) plans aligned with customer acceptance tests
• Ensure requirements traceability to verification methods (analysis, inspection, test)
• Support integration, system bring-up, and factory acceptance testing
• Work closely with manufacturing and quality teams to ensure requirements are producible and testable at volume
• Cross-Functional & Customer Interaction
• Act as the technical interface between customers and field engineering teams, optical, mechanical, electrical, software, and manufacturing engineers, program management and operations
• Support customer technical reviews and requirement clarifications
• Contribute to proposal development and technical responses

Required Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Systems Engineering, Optical Engineering, Physics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field

7+ years of experience in systems engineering for complex electro-optical products

Demonstrated experience with: requirements development and flow-down, system architecture and interface definition, verification and validation planning

Working knowledge of optical inspection or imaging systems

Experience working directly from customer-provided specifications

Preferred Qualifications

Master's degree in a related engineering discipline

Experience with semiconductor inspection, metrology, or lithography systems

Familiarity with requirements management tools

Understanding of SEMI standards and high-volume manufacturing environments

Export Control Requirements

This position may involve access to export-controlled technical data. Employment is contingent upon the ability to comply with applicable export control regulations, including U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR). Candidates must be eligible to access controlled technology as required by law. This position does not support immigration sponsorship.

The range for this position is $115,047.00 - $158,190.00 assuming full time status. Starting pay for the successful applicant is dependent on a variety of job-related factors, including but not limited to geographic location, market demands, experience, training, and education.

A job that shapes a life. Corning offers you the total package. Your well-being is our priority. Our compensation and benefits package supports your health and wellness, financial aspirations, and career from day one. Company-wide bonuses and long-term incentives align with key business results and ensure you are rewarded when the company performs well. When Corning wins, we all win. As part of our commitment to your financial well-being, we provide a 100% company-paid pension benefit with fixed contributions that grow throughout your career. Combined with matching contributions to your 401(k) savings plan, Corning's total contributions to your retirement accounts can reach between 7% and 12% of your pay, depending on your age and years of service.

Our health and well-being benefits include medical, dental, vision, paid parental leave, family building support, fitness, company-paid life insurance, disability, disease management programs, paid time off, and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to support you and your family.

Getting paid for our work is important, but feeling appreciated and recognized for those contributions motivates us much more. That's why Corning offers a recognition program to celebrate successes and reward colleagues who make exceptional contributions.

We prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, veteran status or any other legally protected status. Corning is committed to providing equal employment opportunities and considers requests for reasonable accommodations in accordance with applicable laws. Individuals with disabilities or sincerely held religious beliefs may request reasonable accommodations to participate in the application or interview process, perform essential job functions, or access other benefits and privileges of employment. To submit a request for reasonable accommodation related to disability or religion, please contact us at View email address on click.appcast.io.