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Date: 03/17/2025

Photonics Engineers

Design technologies specializing in light information or light energy, such as laser or fiber optics technology.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Assist in the transition of photonic prototypes to production.
    • Select, purchase, set up, operate, or troubleshoot state-of-the-art laser cutting equipment.
    • Design gas lasers, solid state lasers, infrared, or other light emitting or light sensitive devices.
    • Create or maintain photonic design histories.
    • Design solar energy photonics or other materials or devices to generate energy.
    • Write reports or proposals related to photonics research or development projects.
    • Select, purchase, set up, operate, or troubleshoot state-of-the-art laser cutting equipment.
    • Develop photonics sensing or manufacturing technologies to improve the efficiency of manufacturing or related processes.
    • Design photonics products, such as light sources, displays, or photovoltaics, to achieve increased energy efficiency.
    • Conduct research on new photonics technologies.
    • Document photonics system or component design processes, including objectives, issues, or outcomes.
    • Develop or test photonic prototypes or models.
    • Develop optical or imaging systems, such as optical imaging products, optical components, image processes, signal process technologies, or optical systems.
    • Design or redesign optical fibers to minimize energy loss.
    • Design laser machining equipment for purposes such as high-speed ablation.
    • Select, purchase, set up, operate, or troubleshoot state-of-the-art laser cutting equipment.
    • Document photonics system or component design processes, including objectives, issues, or outcomes.
    • Analyze system performance or operational requirements.
    • Develop laser-processed designs, such as laser-cut medical devices.
    • Determine commercial, industrial, scientific, or other uses for electro-optical applications or devices.
    • Design, integrate, or test photonics systems or components.
    • Determine applications of photonics appropriate to meet product objectives or features.
    • Oversee or provide expertise on manufacturing, assembly, or fabrication processes.
    • Train operators, engineers, or other personnel.
    • Design or develop new crystals for photonics applications.
    • Write reports or proposals related to photonics research or development projects.
    • Analyze, fabricate, or test fiber-optic links.
    • Develop or test photonic prototypes or models.
    • Write reports or proposals related to photonics research or development projects.
    • Read current literature, talk with colleagues, continue education, or participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in the field.
    • Design electro-optical sensing or imaging systems.
    • Design, integrate, or test photonics systems or components.
    • Create or maintain photonic design histories.
    • Analyze, fabricate, or test fiber-optic links.
    • Conduct testing to determine functionality or optimization or to establish limits of photonics systems or components.

    Skills

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    5
    Workplace Documents
    6
    Graphic Literacy
    6

    Abilities

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    Knowledge

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    Career Video

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    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 106390/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 51.15/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 7,060
    • Yearly Projected Openings 410

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Investigative: People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Analytical Thinking
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Innovation
    • Integrity
    • Achievement/Effort

    Tools

    • Bench refractometers or polarimeters
    • Chromatographic detectors
    • Cryostats
    • Digital cameras
    • Electron microscopes
    • Flowmeters
    • Fluorescent microscopes
    • Frequency counters or timer or dividers
    • Fume hoods or cupboards
    • Graphic recorders
    • HEPA filtered enclosures
    • Infrared imagers
    • Interferometers
    • Isolation glove boxes
    • Laboratory safety furnaces
    • Laser beam analyzers
    • Laser fax machine
    • Laser printers
    • Lasers
    • Level generators
    • Lux or light meter
    • Optical choppers
    • Oscilloscopes
    • Personal computers
    • Polarimeters
    • Power meters
    • Reflectometers
    • Scanning electron microscopes
    • Scanning light or spinning disk or laser scanning microscopes
    • Scanning probe microscopes
    • Semiconductor process systems
    • Semiconductor testers
    • Spectrofluorimeters or fluorimeters
    • Spectrometers
    • Spectrophotometers
    • Temperature cycling chambers or thermal cyclers
    • Tumblers or polishers
    • Utility knives
    • Vibration testers
    • Voltage or current meters
    • Xenon lamp

    Technology

    • Analytical or scientific software
    • Computer aided design CAD software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Development environment software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Geographic information system
    • Map creation software
    • Object or component oriented development software
    • Office suite software
    • Operating system software
    • Presentation software
    • Process mapping and design software
    • Program testing software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Web page creation and editing software
    • Word processing software
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