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Sr. Principal Optical Engineer

Alcon
Pay Range: $136,000.00 - $204,000.00
flex time, relocation assistance
United States, California, Lake Forest
20511 Lake Forest Drive (Show on map)
Jul 21, 2025

At Alcon, we're passionate about enhancing sight and helping people see brilliantly. With more than 25,000 associates, we innovate fearlessly, champion progress, and act swiftly to impact global eye health. We foster an inclusive culture, recognizing your contributions and offering opportunities to grow your career like never before. Together, we make a difference in the lives of our patients and customers. Are you ready to join us?

This role is part of Alcon's Engineering function, a team focused on improving quality, processes, products, packaging and materials across our business to help deliver brilliant outcomes.

The Sr. Principal II, Optical Engineering (Science/Tech/Engineering Path), is primarily responsible for leading the design, development, and maintenance of advanced optical systems and components, optimizing designs, and ensuring regulatory compliance. You will drive project performance and technological innovation. This role will also be responsible for the analysis, design, development, and testing of optical systems and components that manipulate light. This ranges from simple devices like eyeglass lenses to complex ones such as imaging systems in microscopes, telescopes, lasers, and fiber optic communication systems. The responsibility extends to studying the properties of light, its interaction with various materials and human vision interpretation.

In this role, a typical day will include:

* Lead the design, development, implementation, operation, and maintenance of advanced optical systems and components, focusing on complex devices like imaging systems in microscopes, telescopes, lasers, and fiber optic communication systems
* Oversee multiple complex projects, ensuring goals are met through specialized expertise and technological innovation
* Study the properties of light, its interaction with various materials, and human vision interpretation
* Make strategic decisions within assigned tasks to drive project performance and technological innovation
* Collaborate with cross-functional teams to implement improvements and ensure adherence to regulatory standards, impacting operational efficiency and product quality
* Adhere to GxP regulations by following Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), maintaining accurate documentation, ensuring rigorous quality control, and completing required training

Experience:

Position requires comprehensive experience in the full lifecycle of medical product development. The role involves working closely with various optical suppliers, leading technical communication, defining optical design requirements, and making critical design decisions. Preferred candidates will have a background in visualization systems within the ophthalmology field and experience collaborating with ophthalmic surgeons to gather and translate user needs into optical instrument design specifications.

What You'll Bring to Alcon:

  • Bachelor's Degree or Equivalent years of directly related experience (or high school+15 yrs; Assoc.+11 yrs; M.S.+4 yrs; PhD+3 yrs)

  • The ability to fluently read, write, understand and communicate in English

  • 7 Years of Relevant Experience

How You Can Thrive at Alcon:

  • Join Alcon's mission to provide outstanding, innovative products and solutions to improve sight, improve lives, and grow your career!

  • Alcon provides robust benefits package including health, life, retirement, flexible time off, and much more!

  • Travel Requirements: 0-5%

  • Relocation assistance: Yes

  • Sponsorship available: No

Alcon Careers

See your impact at alcon.com/careers

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ATTENTION: Current Alcon Employee/Contingent Worker

If you are currently an active employee/contingent worker at Alcon, please click the appropriate link below to apply on the Internal Career site.

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Total Rewards

Alcon's Total Rewards programs are designed to align to incentives with business goals, encourage the right values and behaviors, and deliver long-term value. The first layer of our rewards program is compensation. We offer a combination of fixed pay and variable pay, which includes short-term incentives, and long-term incentives for eligible population. Our benefits program provides security for life events through life and disability insurance, supports savings for retirement, promotes good health and well-being and supports associates and their families during times of illness. To learn more about Alcon's Corporate Social Responsibility including our Total Rewards, click here

Pay Range

$136,000.00 - $204,000.00

Pay Frequency

Annual

Alcon is an Equal Opportunity Employer and participates in E-Verify. Alcon takes pride in maintaining a diverse environment and our policies are not to discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status. Alcon is also committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process, or in order to perform the essential functions of a position, please send an email to alcon.recruitment@alcon.com and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information.

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