---
title: 'Optics Manufacturing Development Engineer at Inertia'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/optics-manufacturing-development-engineer-inertia-livermore-sats46ed86kk'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-09'
---

# Optics Manufacturing Development Engineer at Inertia

- **Company:** Inertia
- **Location:** Livermore
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-07-20
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-09
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/inertia/9b617420-669e-4f72-9a19-1229bc10bc4e

## Job description

## Overview

At Inertia, we plan to build the world’s largest laser to initiate the world’s first fusion power plant. We need talented engineers to take on the challenge of scaling up various optical components (laser glass and optics, traditional lens, micro lens array, etc.) to unprecedented volume to supply the laser system.

This role will be critical to evaluate feasibility of suppliers, bring up pilot production, and scale up to production volume to supply the fusion power plant.

The role will report to the VP of Industrial Engineering.

## WHAT YOU'LL GET TO DO

- Engage internal design teams to consolidate all design requirements, and document the requirements for vendor engagement.
- Engage suppliers for feasibility, scale, and cost deep dives.
- Monitor pilot production bring up.
- Establish manufacturing best practices.
- Collaborate with quality engineering to implement production quality control.
- Yield analysis and failure analysis.

## WHAT YOU BRING TO INERTIA

- B.S. with 10 years of experience, or M.S. with 7 years of experience.
- Experience with glass and ceramic fabrication processes.
- High volume manufacturing development experience.
- Experience with production quality control.

## SALARY & BENEFITS:

- The base salary range for this role is $165,000 - $225,000; The pay range provided is an estimated base range for this role. Exact compensation may vary based on skills, experience, and education.
- We offer market-competitive compensation and an excellent benefits program, including Medical, Dental, and Vision plans, company-paid holidays, matching 401k, and more!

About Inertia:

Inertia is taking the most direct, scientifically-proven path to commercializing fusion, leveraging the only successful achievement of fusion ignition, using a process that was pioneered at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). With groundbreaking innovation, transformative technology, and multi-year investment, Inertia is committed to commercializing fusion energy in the next decade.

This position requires access to technology, software and other information that is subject to governmental access control restrictions, due to export controls, security classification and/or designation as Controlled Unclassified Information. Employment in this position is conditioned on the candidate’s eligibility for, obtaining and maintaining appropriate government authorization to access technology or information, to the extent required, including without limitation a security clearance, export license, or other documentation required to establish authorization to receive access to such items technology or information.

## About Inertia

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Inertia is a commercial fusion energy company developing laser-based inertial fusion power plants based on proven physics from the National Ignition Facility.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series A – raised $450M in February 2026)
- **Headquarters**: Livermore, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2024
- **Founders**: Jeff Lawson (CEO), Mike Dunne (Co-Founder, CTO & SVP Fusion Power), Annie Kritcher (Co-Founder)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Renewable energy, fusion power generation
- **Target customers**: Utility-scale electricity providers and grid operators (B2B, enterprise)
- **Mission**: Create limitless clean energy by commercializing the only proven approach to fusion – laser-driven inertial fusion – and delivering gigawatt-scale, dispatchable power.

## Products & Services
- **Fusion Power Plant**: A grid-scale, 1.5GW baseload plant that uses a 10MJ laser firing ten times per second at mass-produced fuel targets, generating electricity via steam turbines. First plant expected in the 2030s.
- **Fusion Fuel Targets**: Peppercorn-sized capsules of fusion fuel mass-manufactured for less than $1 each, enabling continuous, low-cost operation.
- **Modular Laser System**: The world’s most powerful laser (by average power), built from thousands of modular, replaceable beamlines (shipping-container-sized), 20x more efficient than NIF and 1/10th the footprint.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (private company)
- **Total Funding**: $450M (Series A, February 2026) from leading venture investors
- **Key Metric**: 23 employees as of mid-2026; 16 active job postings; monthly headcount growth of +46.4% [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/inertia-fusion)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Backed by a group of leading visionaries and investors (names not disclosed in public materials). Public-private partnership with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) signed April 2026 [inertia.com](https://inertia.com/press/)
- **Growth Signals**: Proven physics (first net-energy-gain fusion experiment at NIF in 2022); $450M Series A; partnership with LLNL to commercialize fusion; rapid hiring across engineering, laser science, and manufacturing roles.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Proven physics basis**: Only company commercializing the laser-driven inertial fusion approach that has already achieved net-positive ignition (NIF 2022, repeated multiple times). Avoids scientific risk.
- **Modular laser architecture**: Thousands of identical, manufacturable laser units allow rapid scaling, redundancy, and cost reduction through mass production.
- **Low-cost fuel targets**: Mass-manufacturing targets for under $1 each eliminates the hand-crafted, expensive targets used in research labs.
- **Integrated power plant design**: Leverages existing turbine and grid infrastructure; breeds its own fuel and recycles components.

## Strategic Focus
- **Immediate priorities**: Build the world’s first assembly line for fusion fuel targets; construct the prototype modular laser beamline in Livermore; complete an integrated, fully consistent power plant design.
- **Next phase**: Scale both laser and target production into a gigawatt, utility-scale fusion power plant during the 2030s, demonstrating end-to-end energy generation.
- **Long-term**: Drive down cost for subsequent commercial facilities, targeting grid-scale, zero-emission baseload power.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-driven culture**: "Building big" to solve climate change with limitless clean energy. The team emphasizes engineering over scientific risk, using known physics to commercialize rapidly.
- **Early-stage impact**: Small team (~23 employees) means each hire can have outsized influence across laser physics, target manufacturing, plant design, and business operations.
- **Work environment**: On-site in Livermore, CA (facilities for laser and target prototyping). Roles span mechanical engineering, controls, laser science, manufacturing, and content/storytelling.
- **Notable perks/benefits**: Not explicitly detailed, but the company offers competitive compensation in a high-growth, venture-backed startup. Open positions include senior engineers, scientists, and a Head of Content & Storytelling [inertia.com](https://inertia.com/jobs/).
- **Leadership**: Founded by proven entrepreneurs (Jeff Lawson, former Twilio CEO) and world-class fusion scientists (Mike Dunne led the US government fusion power plant program; Annie Kritcher designed the first net-positive ignition experiment).

## Sources
1. [inertia.com – Homepage](https://www.inertia.com/)
2. [inertia.com – Founders Message](https://inertia.com/press/founders-message/)
3. [inertia.com – Press Releases](https://inertia.com/press/)
4. [linkedin.com – Inertia Fusion](https://www.linkedin.com/company/inertia-fusion)
5. [inertia.com – Jobs Page](https://inertia.com/jobs/)

## Other roles at Inertia

- [Facilities Technician](https://feeny.ai/job/facilities-technician-inertia-livermore-kewb6gs52rav) — Livermore
- [Compliance Manager / Director / Counsel](https://feeny.ai/job/compliance-manager-director-counsel-inertia-livermore-md8d7dn6a2dj) — Livermore
- [VP, Finance](https://feeny.ai/job/vp-finance-inertia-livermore-8kdtp92993xg) — Livermore
- [Desktop Support Technician](https://feeny.ai/job/desktop-support-technician-inertia-livermore-cdb8b5m1zm47) — Livermore
- [Project Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/project-manager-inertia-livermore-qwrhbaa67b5d) — Livermore
- [Senior Mechanical Design Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-mechanical-design-engineer-inertia-livermore-bey7f6xvm1p4) — Livermore
- [Mechanical Technician](https://feeny.ai/job/mechanical-technician-inertia-livermore-qmf2aas8y4kn) — Livermore
- [Senior Mechanical Engineer - Fusion Engine Design and Analysis](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-mechanical-engineer-fusion-engine-design-and-analysis-inertia-livermore-1z56gm4hyd60) — Livermore