--- title: 'Optical Engineer at Matter Intelligence' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/optical-engineer-matter-intelligence-el-segundo-0vf6ewydc4x3' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-20' --- # Optical Engineer at Matter Intelligence - **Company:** Matter Intelligence - **Location:** El Segundo, CA - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** onsite - **Posted:** 2026-09-18 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-20 - **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/matter-intelligence/6cc6a657-6903-480a-8428-5fb8a663ed06 ## Job description Optical Engineer ## About Matter Intelligence Welcome to Matter, where we are building the future of vision AI: pairing a world-first sensor that sees molecular chemistry, temperature, and 3D shape with a Large World Model that will be the most powerful intelligence engine for the physical world. This system doesn't just see what something looks like; it understands everything from a single pixel. We call this Superintelligent Vision. Our team has delivered technologies to Mars for NASA/JPL, designed advanced sensors for U.S. Defense, and frontier artificial intelligence systems. We are now building the next generation of space- and airborne-based sensing systems. ## About the Role Matter is hiring an Optical Engineer to help design, integrate, calibrate, and operate the optical path for our sensing payload. This role will work across optical design, optomechanics, calibration, systems engineering, and test. ## Key Responsibilities - Generate optical designs and system trade studies for advanced electro-optic sensors, balancing performance, manufacturability, and end-user utility across the required spectral range. - Decompose system requirements into optical system and subsystem requirements; derive optical specifications, drawings, interfaces, alignment approaches, tolerances, and performance budgets with adjacent engineering teams. - Perform optical analysis—including image simulation, radiometry, stop analysis, and stray-light analysis—and plan and execute optical assembly, alignment, characterization, calibration, and integration activities. - Support the design of optical test equipment, environmental, ground, and flight testing; analyze results, investigate performance gaps, and lead root-cause efforts. - Participate in design reviews and document optical requirements, test methods, calibration results, as-built optical designs, and configuration changes. ## Qualifications Required - Advanced degree in optics, physics, engineering, mathematics, or a related field, with a strong foundation in optical engineering and experience applying it to physical systems. - Proficiency with Zemax or equivalent optical design and analysis software, along with experience in optical alignment, characterization, calibration, laboratory test methods, and design of test equipment and validation procedures. - Experience with stray-light analysis in FRED or equivalent, modeling optical alignment procedures, and using performance-prediction tools for novel optical systems. - Hands-on experience building and aligning optical assemblies, with a cross-functional approach to integration and troubleshooting. ## Preferred - Experience with imaging, spectroscopy, remote sensing, or precision optical instruments; familiarity with diffractive or meta-optics applications, manufacturing, and modeling. - Experience working across broad spectral ranges and tightly constrained payload packaging. - Familiarity with flight test, environmental test, and calibration under operational conditions. What Success Looks Like - Optical system meets defined performance and calibration requirements. - Alignment and calibration processes are repeatable, documented, and practical for field operations. - Flight-test data is translated quickly into clear root causes and design or process improvements. Location This role is based in El Segundo, CA, and requires onsite work. ITAR Requirements To comply with U.S. export regulations, applicants must be one of the following: - A U.S. citizen or national - A lawful permanent resident (green card holder) - Eligible to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State Employee Offerings and Benefits At Matter, we believe in rewarding high performance and providing the support you need to thrive. Our compensation and benefits package includes: - Competitive compensation based on experience - Early-stage equity package - 100% employer-paid health, dental, and vision coverage - Opportunity to work on novel sensing, data, and AI systems with real-world deployment paths to the largest industries in the world Matter Intelligence is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome candidates from all backgrounds who can raise the ambition and performance of the team. ## About Matter Intelligence ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Matter Intelligence builds a new vision ecosystem pairing the world’s first ultraspectral sensor with a foundational Large World Model that understands the physical world at a molecular level. - **Entity Type**: Private (Seed stage – $12M raised) - **Headquarters**: El Segundo, California, United States - **Founded**: 2023 - **Founders**: Vishnu Sridhar (CEO), Nathan Stein (Co-Founder and Founding Scientist) ## Core Business - **Primary industry/industries**: Space Research and Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Advanced Imaging/Sensors - **Target customers**: B2B – autonomous systems manufacturers, infrastructure monitoring firms, defense/space agencies, insurance, and robotics companies. - **Mission or purpose statement**: “Giving machines the ability to take actions with superintelligence” by bridging visual pattern recognition with physics-based reasoning. ## Products & Services - **Ultraspectral Sensor**: Captures thousands of spectral bands from ultraviolet to thermal infrared, revealing unique molecular fingerprints of materials. Not just higher resolution – an entirely different kind of never-captured information. - **Large World Model (foundational AI)**: Combines physics-informed learning with sensor data to identify materials with chemical precision, predict system failures, and enable robots to safely handle objects. - **Geospatial AI Platform**: Accelerates computer vision and contextual geospatial modeling for understanding and predicting real-world events from space to surface. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (private company) - **Key Metric**: Total funding $12M (Seed round, October 2024) - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Lowercarbon Capital (lead seed), International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence (non-equity assistance), and six other seed investors. - **Growth Signals**: - Headcount grew 230% YoY to ~29 employees (as of mid-2025). - Active job postings: 15 (monthly +7.1%, quarterly +25%). - LinkedIn followers grew 170% yearly. - Opened offices in San Francisco and El Segundo, CA. ## Competitive Advantages - **First-of-its-kind ultraspectral sensor** that captures chemical and material properties, not just shapes/colors. - **Physics-informed AI** (Large World Model) that understands matter at a molecular level – a deep moat in computer vision and remote sensing. - **Strong ties to NASA JPL** (7 employees from JPL) and other top talent sources (UCLA, Harvard, Palantir, Millennium Space Systems). ## Strategic Focus - **Current priorities**: Scaling the sensor-hardware production, maturing the AI foundation model, and expanding into frontier customer deployments (autonomous systems, infrastructure monitoring, defense, insurance). - **Direction for growth**: Building the “vision infrastructure” for machines – from satellites to robots – enabling superintelligent perception of the physical world. ## Why Work Here - **Culture highlights**: In-office work environment (San Francisco and El Segundo). Emphasis on cutting-edge R&D at the intersection of hardware, optics, and AI. Small, fast-growing team with direct impact. - **Remote/hybrid policy**: In-Office (on-site required) per Built In and LinkedIn. - **Notable perks or engineering culture**: Work on frontier technology that “gives machines superintelligence.” Team includes former NASA JPL, Palantir, and DroneDeploy engineers. Strong focus on delivery and real-world deployment. Early-stage equity opportunity. ## Sources 1. [matter.com](https://www.matter.com/) 2. [jobs.ashbyhq.com/matter-intelligence](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/matter-intelligence) 3. [linkedin.com/company/matter-intelligence](https://www.linkedin.com/company/matter-intelligence) 4. 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