---
title: 'R&D Engineer at Scismic'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/r-d-engineer-scismic-somerset-291znhp45amb'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-09'
---

# R&D Engineer at Scismic

- **Company:** Scismic
- **Location:** Somerset, NJ
- **Compensation:** $100k–$120k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2025-10-17
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-09
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/scismic/272c2436-e2d8-457d-ae3d-eb3ac57ad49c

## Job description

Scismic is supporting the growth of the most respected legacies in American industry, known for pioneering breakthroughs in optical technologies!

With a proven history of industry firsts—including application-specific fibers, optical connectors, ribbon cables, erbium-doped fibers, Raman fiber lasers, and fiber gratings - Company is commited to delivering cutting-edge optical innovations and solutions by designing, manufacturing and supplying the high performance optical fibers, fiber cable and components and devices. Their mission is to advance communication technology while providing exceptional service that drives value for customers, employees, and shareholders.

They are currently seeking an R&D Engineer to join their R&D facility in Somerset NJ, to join a team that designs, fabricates, tests and prototypes innovative technology that serves the medical, industrial, aerospace, and telecommunications fields. The ideal candidate will advance their high power fiber laser portfolio, requiring the ability to identify and solve technical problems, both independently and as part of a team, in developing new products and new manufacturing processes. Significant aspects of the position include conducting experiments, analyzing data, improving and designing equipment and advanced prototypes, and interfacing with manufacturing.

This role has the potential to grow into an independent research and development program.

Essential duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

- Conduct research, propose experiments, and analyze data to validate hypotheses and improve understanding, particularly for troubleshooting performance and quality as well as equipment and materials issues related to high power fiber lasers and telecommunications components
- Innovate the next generation of optical component technology to improve performance and manufacturing processes
- Interface with teams developing fiber laser components such as optical fibers, fiber Bragg gratings, and fiber coatings to ensure complete design solutions for fiber laser systems
- Characterize glass, fibers, and coatings, and devise methods to identify and solve technical problems
- Assist in establishing and executing an R&D program to support their manufacturing sites, and provide input to the long-term technology roadmap
- Provide technical support to the marketing and sales team and assist in understanding new business opportunities
- Perform other related duties as required by management

Key qualifications include:

- Advanced degree (MS or PhD) in Engineering, Optics, Physics, Physical Chemistry, or related field
- Experience in handling, characterizing and performing data analysis on optical fibers
- Experience with high-power fiber lasers and components such as pump and pump-signal combiners and fiber Bragg gratings, is highly desired
- Expertise in material properties of glass and polymers, mechanical design, and fabrication techniques is highly desired
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, preferably as demonstrated by past publications or presentations
- Demonstrated ability to innovate in a high technology field
- Coursework and/or experience in photonics and optics
- Lab automation and computer skills
- Ability to understand and perform numerical simulation
- Demonstrated ability to learn quickly and work effectively with minimal supervision
- Maintain discretion when working with confidential and proprietary information
- Strict adherence to Company safety policies and procedures
- Conform to all aspects of the company “Standards of Conduct”

Working at the company means having the opportunity to realize ideas, experience innovation and discover new solutions for the future. In addition to their dynamic work environment, their offer competitive salaries and generous benefits programs, including medical, dental, tuition reimbursement and a matching 401(k) plan.

Employees are expected to serve as role models for safe work practices and behaviors. This includes following established health and safety policies and procedures, maintaining a clean, organized work area, wearing, and properly storing all personal protective equipment (PPE), and actively engaging as a safety conscious worker with personal safety and wellness as a priority.

## About Scismic

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Scismic is a digital STEM ecosystem that uses explainable AI and skills-based matching to connect life science, deep tech, and manufacturing employers with qualified talent, while also providing workforce development tools for educators and economic organizations.
- **Entity Type**: Private (NIH-funded)
- **Headquarters**: Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States (with offices in Boston, London, and Singapore)
- **Founded**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Founders**: Dr. Danika Khong, PhD (CEO & Co-Founder)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: HR tech / talent platform for STEM (Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Deep Tech)
- **Target customers**: B2B (employers in pharma, biotech, medtech, AI/ML, robotics), B2C (STEM job seekers), B2G (economic development organizations, professional associations), B2E (universities and training providers)
- **Mission**: "Put the right scientists in the right roles to help drive innovation forward" and address the broken connection between academia and industry [scismic.com](https://scismic.com/about)

## Products & Services
- **Scismic Connect**: AI-powered hiring platform for employers. Provides gender- and race-blind skills matching, guarantees 3 interview-ready candidates, 97% first-year retention, and free replacement if a hire leaves within 12 months. Reduces time-to-hire by 80% [scismic.com](https://scismic.com/employers)
- **Skills Locker**: Skills intelligence solution for education institutions. Maps curriculum to labor market demand, tracks emerging skills by region, and improves graduate employment outcomes [scismic.com](https://scismic.com/?hsLang=en)
- **SMARTBoard EDU**: White-label technology for economic development organizations and professional associations to build skills-first communities, map regional talent supply/demand, and coordinate multi-stakeholder initiatives [scismic.com](https://scismic.com/?hsLang=en)
- **Job Seeker Platform**: Free platform for STEM professionals to find jobs, receive personalized career pathway recommendations, and access upskilling opportunities [scismic.com](https://scismic.com/?hsLang=en)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Over 80,000 scientists and engineers screened; 8,000+ skills mapped (NIH-awarded taxonomy); 97% employee retention beyond 12 months [scismic.com](https://scismic.com/employers)
- **Notable Investors / Partners**: Funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to reduce bias in candidate evaluation; also partners with economic development organizations and professional associations [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/scismic-llc)
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount of 9 employees (-22.2% YoY, -4 people) per LinkedIn; LinkedIn followers 11,609 (+18.9% yearly). The company is expanding into workforce development and education verticals with white-label solutions [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/scismic-llc)

## Competitive Advantages
- **NIH-awarded skills-matching technology** that is gender- and race-blind, reducing bias in candidate screening
- **Specialized focus on STEM** (life sciences, manufacturing, deep tech) – not a generalist platform
- **Strong retention guarantees**: 97% first-year retention, free replacement within 12 months
- **Plug-and-play ecosystem** for multiple stakeholders (employers, educators, workforce boards) – not just a job board

## Strategic Focus
- **Skills-first hiring** – moving away from pedigree-based evaluation to verified skills data
- **Bridging the academia-industry gap** – helping translate STEM education into commercial innovation
- **Workforce development at scale** – white-label solutions for regional economic development and professional associations
- **Expanding education partnerships** – aligning curriculum with real-time labor market demand

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Mission-driven team of PhD scientists and engineers who understand the rigor of research and the importance of talent in STEM. Rated 4.5/5.0 on LinkedIn (6 reviews) with high scores for Work-Life (4.7) and Culture (4.6), but lower for Compensation (2.4) [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/scismic-llc)
- **Remote/Hybrid/Office**: Not explicitly stated; headquarters in Cambridge, MA with global offices (Boston, London, Singapore). Likely hybrid or remote-friendly given 9 employees across multiple countries.
- **Notable Perks**: Opportunity to work on NIH-funded technology that directly impacts diversity and innovation in STEM. Small team offers high autonomy and impact. Focus on career development and upskilling for employees as well.
- **Engineering Culture**: Building explainable AI and skills-matching algorithms; team is composed of researchers, product innovators, and commercial strategists [scismic.com](https://scismic.com/about)

## Sources
1. [scismic.com](https://scismic.com/?hsLang=en) – Company homepage and ecosystem overview
2. [scismic.com](https://scismic.com/about) – About page, founders, mission, team
3. [scismic.com](https://scismic.com/employers) – Employer solutions and metrics
4. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/scismic-llc) – LinkedIn company page, employee count, followers, reviews
5. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/scismic) – Built In profile, description

## Other roles at Scismic

- [Team Leader, Critical Time Intervention (CTI)](https://feeny.ai/job/team-leader-critical-time-intervention-cti-scismic-new-york-city-r2vr8c1k6xj1) — New York City, NY
- [Speech Language Pathologist  (SLP or CF)](https://feeny.ai/job/speech-language-pathologist-slp-or-cf-scismic-oakland-99svctjwc4vv) — Oakland, CA
- [Sr. Continuous Improvement Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-continuous-improvement-manager-scismic-geneva-e671dhzyf5zm) — Geneva, Switzerland
- [Quality Assurance Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/quality-assurance-manager-scismic-indianapolis-z1shqwsr65y0) — Indianapolis, IN
- [Microbiology Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/microbiology-manager-scismic-springfield-g62fth1252zr) — Springfield, MO
- [Senior Data Scientist - NLP/LLM Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-data-scientist-nlp-llm-specialist-scismic-san-diego-zrh3pmnd8pws) — San Diego, CA
- [Manager, Grants and Contracts Administration](https://feeny.ai/job/manager-grants-and-contracts-administration-scismic-phoenix-5wva3f0dvsgj) — Phoenix, AZ
- [Speech Language Pathologist  (SLP or CF)](https://feeny.ai/job/speech-language-pathologist-slp-or-cf-scismic-oakland-jn8kby8e0yj8) — Oakland, CA
- [R&D Engineers – Optical Fiber (Preform Assembly)](https://feeny.ai/job/r-d-engineers-optical-fiber-preform-assembly-scismic-somerset-ja79eyx3zfah) — Somerset, NJ
- [Patent Agent or Junior/Patent Associate (Biomedical Eng/Material Chemist)](https://feeny.ai/job/patent-agent-or-junior-patent-associate-biomedical-eng-material-chemist-scismic-0c4ehvk353p6) — Boston, MA