Full-Time

Optical Physicist

AOSense

AOSense

51-200 employees

Designs and manufactures cold-atom sensors

No salary listed

No H1B Sponsorship

Fremont, CA, USA

In Person

US Citizenship Required

Master's, PhD

Category
Academic & Institutional Research (1)
Required Skills
Zemax
SolidWorks

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Requirements
  • Demonstrated expertise with lasers, optics, optomechanics, electro-optics, and acousto-optics.
  • Hands-on experience with optical test equipment.
  • Experience with single-mode optical fiber systems.
  • Ability to operate and troubleshoot electronic control systems for photonics devices.
  • U.S. citizenship or permanent residency is required for U.S. Government contracts.
  • A Master's degree or equivalent professional experience is required.
Responsibilities
  • Develop compact laser systems for atom-based sensors and frequency standards.
  • Design, build, and characterize optical frequency combs and high-finesse cavities.
  • Validate the long-term stability of photonic systems in dynamic environments.
  • Characterize laser performance, including linewidth, beam quality, and lifetime.
  • Characterize optics, optical materials, and components.
  • Model laser beam propagation with optical design software.
  • Transition photonics devices to manufacturing.
  • Contribute to research proposals for further development and applications.
Desired Qualifications
  • Optical frequency metrology, including optical frequency combs and high-finesse cavities.
  • Experience with ultrafast lasers and amplifiers.
  • Experience with laser frequency stabilization.
  • Experience with narrow-linewidth diode lasers.
  • Experience with integrated photonics design and fabrication.
  • Experience with micro-optic and diode chip assembly and packaging.
  • Experience with engineering software packages such as Zemax, FRED, SolidWorks, or COMSOL.
  • A Ph.D. degree.

AOSense develops high-performance quantum sensors using cold-atom technology for navigation, timekeeping, and gravity measurement. It designs, fabricates, and tests atom-optic devices that cool and manipulate atoms with frequency-stable lasers, enabling precision measurements through atom interferometry. The company differentiates itself with Stanford-based expertise, experienced leadership, and a track record of government SBIR contracts, delivering custom SWaP-optimized solutions for defense, aerospace, and scientific customers. Its goal is to turn advanced cold-atom research into deployable systems that enable resilient GPS-denied navigation, reliable timing, and geophysical surveying.

Company Size

51-200

Company Stage

Grant

Total Funding

$25.3M

Headquarters

Sunnyvale, California

Founded

2004

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Lockheed Martin, Q-CTRL, and AOSense announced QuINS on March 12, 2025.
  • NASA awarded AOSense a $149,914 SBIR on August 27, 2025 for Rydberg-sensor lasers.
  • DoD awarded AOSense $1.7 million in April 2026 for low-power rubidium oscillators.

What critics are saying

  • AOSense depends on U.S. government awards; federal contracts fund nearly all revenue.
  • Lockheed’s QuINS program concentrates commercialization through primes, squeezing AOSense’s pricing power.
  • No major non-defense customer base creates existential budget risk if DoD priorities shift by 2028.

What makes AOSense unique

  • Stanford-born AOSense pioneered atom-interferometric sensors since 2004, unlike MEMS rivals.
  • Boeing’s 2024 flight test validated AOSense’s quantum IMU in airborne GPS-denied navigation.
  • AOSense builds clocks, gravimeters, and subcomponents, not just single-navigation payloads.

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Benefits

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

0%

1 year growth

2%

2 year growth

-1%
The Quantum Insider
Mar 13th, 2025
Lockheed Martin, Q-CTRL, and AOSense Partner to Develop Quantum-Enabled Navigation System for GPS-Denied Environments

Lockheed Martin is partnering with Q-CTRL, a quantum control engineering firm, and AOSense, a developer of high-performance quantum sensors for position, navigation, and timing applications.