A venture-backed team building next-generation metal recycling infrastructure from scratch.
Optical Engineer
Referral bonus eligible. Know someone who would be great for this role? Refer them to a Fluency Digital recruiter. If they're placed, you may be eligible for a referral bonus of up to $5,000 (terms apply). Refer someone for this role
We're designing hardware that can identify and sort metal alloys at the speed of a conveyor belt—using spectral imaging, precision optics, and real-time inference. The problem is massive: America exports millions of tons of scrap metal every year because we lack the domestic capacity to process it intelligently. This is an attempt to change that equation entirely. You'll own the optical path from sensor to signal, working at the intersection of physics, firmware, and machine perception to make materials recovery radically more efficient.
What they're looking for
- 3+ years designing and aligning free-space optical systems, spectrometers, or multispectral imaging rigs
- Comfortable scripting in Python for data analysis, instrument control, or hardware-in-the-loop testing
- Hands-on experience with optical components—lenses, gratings, filters, detectors—and the pragmatism to make them survive an industrial environment
- Track record of iterating on optomechanical prototypes and working cross-functionally with electrical and software engineers
- Deep curiosity about materials science, recycling economics, or precision manufacturing