(Senior) Opto-Mechanical Engineer

Who We Are

Caelora is a Munich-based company, founded in 2026 out of Marvel Fusion, focused on unlocking the next wave of impact from high-energy ultrashort-pulse laser systems. Led by an experienced team and supported by a growing team of laser scientists and engineers, we combine deep laser expertise with decades of industrial execution experience.

How We Work

We bring energy and enthusiasm to everything we do – and hold ourselves to the highest standards to match it. We challenge ideas openly, commit decisively, and take full ownership. Our culture is built on character, clear communication, and a shared, relentless ambition to move fast and deliver impact.

Hiring at Caelora

Building the future of high-energy laser technology requires exceptional talent. Our hiring process is designed to help you learn more about us while we get to know your background, skills, and potential. Our process:

• Application Screening

• Recruiter Call

• Hiring Lead Interview

• On-site Interviews

• Offer

The impact you will make

In this role, you will have the chance to deepen your expertise by working at the forefront of high-power lasers. You will be a key person in designing and optimizing ultra-stable optical mounts for high-power laser systems. Your contributions will significantly impact Caelora's mission to bring prototypes to industrial products and, by extension, the broader commercialization of laser-driven fusion and other applications.

This role requires strong expertise in precision mechanical design, thermal and thermo-mechanical simulation, vibration analysis, structural dynamics, and precision kinematics. You will develop mechanical systems capable of maintaining micron- and sub-micron positional stability and highly demanding angular stability under thermal loads, mechanical vibrations, vacuum conditions, and environmental changes.

Thermal stability is particularly critical in high-power laser systems, where small temperature gradients can result in mechanical expansion, optical surface deformation, alignment drift, and ultimately degradation of the laser wavefront and beam quality.

You will collaborate closely with optical physicists, simulation engineers, and systems engineers to translate optical requirements into mechanical and thermal design requirements and ensure the stability, adjustability, and repeatability of critical laser components.

Your Responsibilities

• Design and optimize ultra-stable optical mounts and optomechanical assemblies that maintain micron- to sub-micron positioning and high angular stability under thermal loads, mechanical vibrations, and environmental changes.

• Perform and interpret thermal and thermo-mechanical FEA, including steady-state and transient thermal simulations, temperature gradients, thermal expansion, heat transfer, cooling concepts, and thermally induced deformation.

• Translate thermal results into optomechanical performance by evaluating how temperature changes and gradients affect mirror displacement, tip/tilt, surface deformation, optical alignment, and wavefront quality.

• Perform and interpret modal, harmonic, and random-vibration/PSD analyses to identify structural resonances and predict optical displacement and angular stability under realistic environmental excitation.

• Optimize structures for high eigenfrequencies and low vibration sensitivity while maintaining appropriate mass, manufacturability, accessibility, and adjustment capability.

• Apply principles of multi-degree-of-freedom precision kinematics to develop mounts that provide accurate, repeatable spatial and angular alignment.

• Design kinematic, semi-kinematic, and flexure-based mechanisms capable of minimizing friction, backlash, hysteresis, and thermally induced stresses.

• Select appropriate materials based not only on mechanical strength but also on CTE, thermal conductivity, stiffness-to-mass ratio, dimensional stability, vacuum compatibility, and optical-system requirements.

• Design and integrate passive and active thermal management solutions, including conduction paths, water cooling, thermal interfaces, heat exchangers, and temperature monitoring as required.

• Select and integrate precision adjustment components, including threads, springs, flexures, bearings, actuators, motors, and precision stages, considering load capacity, stiffness, resolution, backlash, repeatability, and stability.

• Integrate motorized and manual adjustment mechanisms while accounting for force transmission, actuator stiffness, mechanical play, heat generation, and their influence on optical stability.

• Use CAD and mechanical simulation tools to develop, analyze, optimize, and document designs in close collaboration with optical physicists and systems engineers.

• Support prototype testing and correlate FEA predictions with displacement, vibration, thermal, and alignment measurements.

• Define mechanical and thermal requirements, acceptance criteria, tolerances, interfaces, and verification procedures for precision optomechanical systems.

• Contribute to an inclusive and collaborative team environment in which all team members feel supported, valued, and heard

What you bring

• Proven experience designing stable optical mounts, precision mechanisms, or optomechanical assemblies, ideally for demanding laser or optical systems.

• Strong understanding of precision mechanical design and kinematics, including spatial and angular degrees of freedom, stiffness, backlash, repeatability, and alignment.

• Experience with thermal and thermo-mechanical simulation, including temperature gradients, thermal expansion, heat transfer, cooling concepts, and resulting structural deformation.

• Experience with structural and vibration analysis, particularly modal analysis and evaluation of mechanical stability.

• Proficiency in CAD and mechanical simulation tools such as Inventor, SolidWorks, ANSYS, or equivalent.

• Experience selecting and integrating precision mechanical components such as flexures, bearings, springs, adjustment screws, actuators, and motors.

• Good understanding of engineering materials and their relevant properties, including CTE, stiffness, thermal conductivity, dimensional stability, and vacuum compatibility.

• Ability to translate optical requirements into mechanical, thermal, positioning, and stability requirements and work effectively with optical engineers, physicists, controls engineers, and manufacturing teams.

• Fluent in English

• A high degree of flexibility, adaptability, and a proactive, can-do attitude

• Strong quantitative and analytical skills

• You are willing to reside in the greater Munich area

• Willingness to travel

What sets you apart

• Direct experience with high-energy, high-power, or ultra-short-pulse laser systems, particularly compressors, stretchers, large mirrors, gratings, or beam-transport systems.

• Experience designing optomechanical systems requiring micron/sub-micron positional precision and μrad or sub-μrad angular stability.

• Understanding of how mechanical and thermal effects translate into optical performance, including wavefront distortion, mirror deformation, pointing stability, and alignment drift.

• Experience with advanced simulation methods such as coupled thermal-structural analysis, harmonic response, and PSD/random-vibration analysis, including correlation with experimental measurements.

• Experience designing vacuum-compatible precision optomechanics and addressing thermal management, cleanliness, materials, actuators, bearings, and cabling in vacuum.

• Hands-on experience with the manufacturing, assembly, alignment, testing, and validation of large precision optical systems.