Z

Zeiss

Corporate venture capital for deep-tech startups

Precision Optician Apprentice

Internship
No salary listed
Göttingen, Germany
In Person
Manufacturing & Production Operations

About the job

Requirements
  • A very good Hauptschule, Realschule, or higher school-leaving qualification is required.
  • Interest in mathematics, physics, and modern technologies is required.
  • Interest in digital processes and strong manual dexterity are required.
  • Spatial and analytical thinking and enjoyment of precise work are required.
  • A high level of commitment and self-motivation is required.
  • Good teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills are required.
Responsibilities
  • Process lenses, prisms, and mirrors with manual skill to produce components for applications such as binoculars, microscopes, and medical devices.
  • Measure, inspect, and manually and mechanically manufacture optical parts and components for high-performance optical systems, including systems used in semiconductor chip manufacturing and medical technology.
  • Assemble and align high-quality optical instruments consisting of mechanical, mechatronic, and optical components.
  • Program, control, and monitor computer numerical control (CNC) production equipment and robots.
  • Set up, program, and operate digital and conventional measuring equipment for processing optical components.
  • Acquire extensive knowledge of the latest technologies.

About the company

Z

Zeiss

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Website

ZEISS Ventures is the corporate venture capital arm of the ZEISS Group, investing in deep-tech startups in Information Technology, Industrial Tech, MedTech, and Life Sciences. It backs early-stage companies at pre-Series A to Series A with typical investments of $1–5 million. The fund provides capital and tailored funding solutions, leveraging ZEISS’s global network and optics/optoelectronics expertise to support portfolio companies. Its goal is to accelerate the development of new technologies and business models that complement ZEISS’s portfolio while actively engaging with external innovation.

Company Size

1,001-5,000

Company Stage

Growth Equity (Non-Venture Capital)

Total Funding

$69.9M

Headquarters

Oberkochen, Germany

Founded

2001

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • First-half 2025/26 revenue reached €5.841 billion, with EBIT rising to €955 million.
  • ZEISS CLINIC 360 won FDA 510(k) clearance on August 19, 2026.
  • EURETINA 2026 launches expanded retina imaging, cataract systems, and DORC brand integration.

What critics are saying

  • ZEISS Meditec plans up to 1,000 cuts by 2029, signaling margin pressure.
  • Göttingen workers entered mediation in February 2026 after Zeiss targeted roughly 140 jobs.
  • ASML scanner timing controls ZEISS SMT revenue; any slip delays optics demand immediately.

What makes Zeiss unique

  • ZEISS supplies ASML's exclusive EUV optics, anchoring High-NA lithography through 2030.
  • ZEISS Medical Technology bundles imaging, software, and surgery across one ophthalmic workflow stack.
  • ZEISS CLINIC 360 and Collaborative Care tie devices, cloud analytics, and referrals together.

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Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • 401(k) Retirement Plan
  • Paid Vacation
  • Performance Bonus

Company News

ZEISS
Oct 28th, 2026
ZEISS Ventures joins $2.2M round for Cambridge battery imaging spin-out Illumion

ZEISS Ventures has joined a £1.7 million funding round for Illumion, a University of Cambridge spin-out that builds imaging technology for battery research. Foresight Group, Cambridge Enterprise Ventures, Parkwalk, Cambridge Angels, and YourVC also took part. Illumion's charge photometry lets researchers watch individual battery particles as they charge and discharge. The company says this reveals processes inside working batteries that were previously out of reach. The money will fund commercialisation, product development, and work with researchers, battery makers, and industrial partners. That includes illumionONE, a real-time particle-level analysis system, and illumionX, a next-generation platform aimed at selected industrial uses.

Yahoo Finance
Oct 26th, 2026
Bronwyn Brophy O'Connor to lead Carl Zeiss Meditec as CEO from December 1, 2026

Bronwyn Brophy O'Connor, currently chief executive officer of Sweden's Vitrolife Group, will become CEO of Carl Zeiss Meditec AG on December 1, 2026. She will also join the Executive Board of Carl Zeiss AG, where she will lead the Medical Technology segment. She succeeds Andreas Pecher, who has served as interim CEO since January 1, 2026, alongside his role as chief executive of the ZEISS Group. Her appointment was first announced in May 2026. Brophy O'Connor has led Vitrolife since 2023. Her earlier roles include posts at Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, and Thermo Fisher Scientific. Justus Wehmer will serve as chief financial officer of Carl Zeiss Meditec. The company generated revenue of €2,228 million in fiscal year 2024/25.

PR Newswire
Oct 22nd, 2026
ZEISS launches CT LUCIA 621P monofocal lens in Japan, expanding its Cataract Workflow

ZEISS Medical Technology has launched its CT LUCIA 621P monofocal intraocular lens (IOL) in Japan, adding it to the ZEISS Cataract Workflow. The company announced the move on October 22, 2026. The lens uses a proprietary asphericity concept to account for the natural misalignment between the cornea centre and the eye's optical axis. ZEISS says this supports consistent visual outcomes across a wide range of patients. It also has a reinforced optic-haptic junction and step-vaulted C-loop haptics, designed to ease centring and help keep the lens stable in the bag. ZEISS will show the lens at the 80th Annual Congress of Japan Clinical Ophthalmology in Kyoto from October 29 to November 1, 2026.

Associated Press
Oct 12th, 2026
ZEISS launches NLX X-ray inspection and DUNE wafer warpage correction for advanced chip packaging

ZEISS Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology (SMT) has launched two systems for advanced chip packaging: ZEISS NLX and ZEISS DUNE. The company announced them in San Francisco on October 12, 2026, as chips grow more complex. ZEISS NLX inspects the inside of chip packages without damaging them. It helps manufacturers spot defects in connections between stacked dies early, and it handles 300-millimetre wafers in both process development and high-volume production. ZEISS DUNE measures the topography of a wafer and corrects wafer bow individually. This helps avoid yield losses in downstream processing and prepares bonding processes. ZEISS SMT is showing the systems at SEMICON West, alongside its photomask tools. The company is also marking 100 years of business in the US in 2026.

PR Newswire
Sep 24th, 2026
ZEISS unveils retinal imaging and surgical innovations at EURETINA 2026

ZEISS Medical Technology has announced expansions to its ZEISS Retina Workflow at the EURETINA 2026 congress in Vienna. The company introduced the ZEISS ALTA DUO 300, combining OCT and fundus imaging in a single device for streamlined retinal diagnostics. ZEISS also unveiled the HMDmd CR3, a head-mounted 3D display that connects with the ZEISS ARTEVO 850 surgical microscope. The company reported that its DORC ILM-BLUE and DORC MEMBRANEBLUE-DUAL vitreoretinal surgical dyes reached a 3 million milestone. Additionally, ZEISS announced that the DORC brand will be consolidated under the ZEISS brand name, unifying the company's ophthalmic offerings. The DORC TDC VELOCE cutter continues to show improvements in 27G vitrectomy procedures, with clinical data suggesting up to 41% shorter core vitrectomy times.