---
title: 'Robot Optics Intern at Neuralink'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/robot-optics-intern-neuralink-austin-texas-04y05y1g10v7'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-11'
---

# Robot Optics Intern at Neuralink

- **Company:** Neuralink
- **Location:** Austin Texas, United States / South San Francisco California, United States
- **Posted:** 2025-05-14
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-11
- **Apply:** https://boards.greenhouse.io/neuralink/jobs/6576326003?gh_jid=6576326003

## Job description

About Neuralink:

We are creating devices that enable a bi-directional interface with the brain. These devices allow us to restore movement to the paralyzed, restore sight to the blind, and revolutionize how humans interact with their digital world.

Team Description:

The Robot Optics Team is passionate about shaping the future of operating rooms. We are responsible for all optical engineering aspects of Neuralink surgeries, including working on our surgical robotics, supporting operating room equipment, and manufacturing custom consumables. The core device we work on is the robotic system that performs implant insertions. Key subsystems include 2D and 3D machine vision cameras, optical coherence tomography, and surgical site illuminators.

Our team oversees the entire product lifecycle of all optical subsystems across multiple robot versions, from ideation and design through production, testing, and maintenance. We also design hardware for producing and inspecting consumables, such as laser-machined needle cartridges. As we manufacture a significant portion of our hardware in-house, our core activities include bring-up testing, designing hardware acceptance testers, and overseeing manufacturing processes.

Job Description and Responsibilities:

As a Robot Optics Intern at Neuralink, you will build, characterize, and calibrate optical and optomechanical systems used directly in our surgical robots and associated consumables manufacturing systems. These systems are responsible for everything from sub-micron conventional imaging to laser scanning imaging to non-imaging optical power delivery. In this role, you will be expected to:

- Design and simulate optical imaging systems
- Test, verify, and maintain vision systems in robots
- Repair and troubleshoot existing optical subassemblies
- Test and verify optics consumables
- Develop image acquisition and processing software
- Conduct preliminary tests of new imaging technologies for robotic surgeries
- Collaborate with engineering teams to evaluate and implement process improvements
- Prepare relevant documentation and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for robot optics

Required Qualifications:

- Familiarity with basic optics fundamentals such as aberrations, transmission/reflection, light polarization, Gaussian beams, etc.
- Experience with visible and IR optical equipment (e.g., fiber splicers, light sources, beam profilers, power meters, resolution targets)
- 1+ years of optical engineering experience, including simulation and design of optics in Zemax or equivalent software
- 1+ years of relevant industrial experience with assembly, precision alignment, and integration of complex optomechanical systems
- 1+ years of experience with benchtop testing, performance characterization, and metrology benchmarking of optical systems
- Experience documenting and following procedures in the optical design pipeline (e.g., assembly, characterization, verification) with a high level of detail

Preferred Qualifications:

- Strong understanding of engineering first principles
- Education in an engineering-related field
- Experience with data analysis and image processing
- Experience with optics alignment and optics bench testing
- Experience with fiber optics fabrication
- Mechanical engineering and CAD skills
- Experience with optical simulation and design software (e.g., Zemax, CodeV, OSLO, LightTools)

Additional Requirements and Competencies:

- Ability to travel to and work in Fremont, CA
- Basic computer skills and proficiency in Google Docs, Google Drive, and Gmail
- Software engineering experience in developing scripts for instrument testing
- Comfortable working in laboratory and vivarium environments as needed

Pay Transparency:

Based on California law, the following details are for California individuals only.

California Hourly Rate:

## $35/Hr USD

What We Offer:

Full-time employees are eligible for the following benefits listed below.

- An opportunity to change the world and work with some of the smartest and most talented experts from different fields
- Growth potential; we rapidly advance team members who have an outsized impact
- Excellent medical, dental, and vision insurance through a PPO plan
- Paid holidays
- Commuter benefits
- Meals provided
- Equity (RSUs) *Temporary Employees & Interns excluded
- 401(k) plan *Interns initially excluded until they work 1,000 hours
- Parental leave *Temporary Employees & Interns excluded
- Flexible time off *Temporary Employees & Interns excluded

## About Neuralink

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Neuralink develops implantable brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) that decode neural signals to restore autonomy for people with paralysis and other neurological conditions.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series D; total funding $1.35B as of Aug 2025)
- **Headquarters**: Fremont, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2016
- **Founders**: Elon Musk, Max Hodak, Benjamin Rapoport, Dongjin Seo, Paul Merolla, Philip Sabes, Timothy J. Gardner, Tim Hanson, Vanessa Tolosa

## Core Business
- Primary industry: Neurotechnology / Biotechnology (implantable medical devices)
- Target customers: B2C (patients with quadriplegia, ALS, spinal cord injury), B2B (hospitals, research institutions, clinical partners)
- Mission: "Building brain interfaces to restore autonomy" – initially helping people with unmet medical needs control computers and robotic arms with their thoughts, and ultimately unlocking human potential.

## Products & Services
- **N1 Implant (“the Link”)**: Coin-sized, surgically implanted BCI that records and stimulates brain activity via flexible neural threads. Enables users to control digital devices (mouse, keyboard, apps) using thought alone. Available only in clinical trials (PRIME Study).
- **Telepathy**: Product name for the N1 Implant’s capability to allow users to control computers and mobile devices (announced by Musk).
- **Blindsight**: Experimental implant designed to restore visual perception by directly stimulating the visual cortex. Received FDA Breakthrough Device Designation in September 2024.
- **Speech BCI**: Device under development to restore communication for individuals with severe speech impairment (ALS, stroke, etc.). Received FDA Breakthrough Device Designation in May 2025.
- **Neurosurgical Robot**: Custom robot for autonomous, precise insertion of neural threads during surgery.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: ~$9 billion (per Tracxn, as of 2026)
- **Key Metric**: Total funding ~$1.35 billion (13 rounds); annual revenue ~$20 million (pre-commercial, primarily from research partnerships)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Founders Fund (led Series D), CoreNest Capital (led 2025 venture round), Elon Musk (owns >50%). Partners include University Health Network (Toronto), FDA (regulatory collaboration).
- **Growth Signals**:
  - 21 human patients implanted as of January 2026
  - Headcount grew 31.3% year-over-year to ~400 employees (with 127 active job postings)
  - Received FDA Breakthrough Device Designations for Blindsight and speech BCI
  - Expanded clinical trials to Canada (first procedures outside the U.S. in Aug/Sep 2025)
  - Patients reached typing speeds of up to 40 words per minute and achieved information transfer rates comparable to able-bodied mouse users

## Competitive Advantages
- **First-mover with human implants**: Only BCI company with FDA-approved human trials and over 20 implanted patients.
- **Robotic precision**: Proprietary surgical robot capable of inserting ultra-thin threads (4–6 µm) that are too fine for human hands.
- **Regulatory momentum**: Multiple FDA Breakthrough Device Designations accelerating development for vision, speech, and motor restoration.
- **Interdisciplinary talent pool**: Recruits from Tesla, SpaceX, OpenAI, Stanford, UCSF; team spans neuroscience, electrical engineering, robotics, and microfab.
- **High-profile leadership**: Elon Musk’s visibility draws talent, funding, and media attention.

## Strategic Focus
- **Clinical expansion**: Scale the PRIME Study to more patients and new sites (Canada, additional countries).
- **Product pipeline**: Commercialize Blindsight (vision) and speech prosthetics; develop motor/sensory restoration capabilities.
- **Regulatory pathway**: Transition from trial-only to eventual commercial approval by the FDA.
- **R&D**: Advance silent speech interfaces, cognitive enhancement, and broader neurological applications (epilepsy, depression, etc.).

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-driven impact**: Work directly on technology that restores function and independence to people with paralysis, ALS, and blindness.
- **Rapid growth**: 31% annual headcount increase; employees often advance quickly due to cross-functional, ambitious projects.
- **Culture**: Open communication and collaboration champion “the best ideas, regardless of where they come from” ([neuralink.com/careers](https://neuralink.com/careers/)).
- **Disciplines welcome**: Engineering (embedded, software, optical, analog IC), surgery/robotics, neuroscience, manufacturing, and operations.
- **Perks & environment**: Fremont HQ with plans for a larger facility near Austin. Hands-on, lab-heavy work likely requires on-site presence.
- **Career development**: Internal growth opportunities, exposure to cutting-edge science, and cross-team collaboration.

## Sources
1. [neuralink.com](https://neuralink.com/)
2. [neuralink.com/careers](https://neuralink.com/careers/)
3. [linkedin.com/company/neuralink](https://www.linkedin.com/company/neuralink)
4. [tracxn.com/d/companies/neuralink](https://tracxn.com/d/companies/neuralink/__oUVI98zbdmLZga1LgBRb3oGJJBxjbzTc7bMWUfAOLws)
5. [builtin.com/hardware/what-is-neuralink](https://builtin.com/hardware/what-is-neuralink)

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