The Career Coffee Club
Optical Engineer

How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Rapid Prototyping Optical Engineer
Reports to: Chief Technology Officer
A deep-technology company based in Manchester, born out of one of the UK’s most innovative technology organisations. Our mission is to develop truly game-changing optical products that push the boundaries of what’s possible.
This is a rare opportunity to join a ground-breaking, best-in-class team at the very start of its journey. As a startup, we’re looking for trailblazers — people who thrive on innovation, move fast, and want to help shape something exceptional from day one.
Role and Responsibilities
We are looking for an adaptable and curious optical engineer that will act as a rapid prototyping engineer to build and evaluate optical systems that demonstrate key aspects of its technology. This will require a fail-fast paradigm to evaluate and prioritise novel techniques and concepts, then characterising them from ideation through conception.
Reasons to use Rodeo
I’m in my final year doing Economics and I don’t know whether to apply for grad schemes now or do a masters first. What do you think?
Honest answer — it depends on where you want to end up. A lot of top grad schemes (Big 4, civil service, banking) don’t need a masters. Let’s look at the ones you’d be competitive for now, and we can decide if a masters actually adds anything.
Also worth knowing: most autumn 2026 applications are open now. Timing matters more than you think.
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
Graduate Consultant — 2026 Scheme
Why you're a good match
StrongYour economics background and your summer at a regional bank line up with what PwC looks for on the consulting scheme. Applications close in four weeks.
See breakdownIt searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Why you're a good match
You’ve got the grades and the economics background, and your bank internship is exactly the experience this scheme looks for. Apply soon — deadlines close within the month.
Experience fit
Your summer at the bank plus your econometrics coursework map directly to the day-one responsibilities on this scheme — client modelling, market briefings, and deal support.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
- You will have a hands-on approach to problem solving and will be experienced in the rapid prototyping of optical systems, and will have prior experience in the design and development of systems, ideally consisting of lasers, laser drivers and spatial light modulators.
- You will be familiar with Zemax, Code V or other optical design software and have experience in metrology techniques associated with optical systems.
- You will be familiar with MATLAB for image processing and data collection implementing image processing operations.


Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
The ideal candidate will be one who thrives in a fast-paced environment, can adapt to changing circumstances and has the flexibility to approach problem-solving in a pragmatic way.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s/Master’s degree in Optics, or Physics/Engineering with 2+ years of lab experience in an industrial environment
- Comfortable with designing and maintaining optical systems, with experience in developing products around them
- Experience with Zemax, Code V or other optical design software
- Experience with metrology techniques for characterising optical systems is a strong plus
- Experience with MATLAB for data collection and image processing tasks; Python is a plus
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills