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Santa Monica, California, United States
Onsite
Company Overview
Red 6 is an innovative Augmented Reality (AR) technology startup leading the way in synthetic air combat training. Our primary technology, supporting our ATARS product, enables pilots to simulate the cognitive challenges of flying while accessing realistic, scalable training in dynamic outdoor environments.
The Role
Red 6 is seeking a technically deep, execution-oriented Director of Optics to lead the Optics Department and scale the optical engineering function across current and next-generation augmented reality systems. This is a senior leadership role focused on optics strategy, organization design, program execution, design review discipline, supplier escalation, metrology standards, and cross-functional delivery.
The Director of Optics is accountable for the optical performance roadmap across the ATARS platform and future optical architectures. The role partners closely with the Principal Optical Engineer, Product, R&D, Manufacturing, Software, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Supply Chain, and external suppliers to ensure optical systems move reliably from concept through prototype, validation, production transition, customer integration, and field support.
The ideal candidate combines optical credibility with organizational leadership. They can challenge design assumptions, guide trade studies, and represent optics at the executive level, while building the people, processes, standards, and accountability systems required for Red 6 to scale.
Role Interface with Principal Optical Engineer
Paired leadership model
The Director of Optics owns the optics organization, roadmap, staffing plan, execution system, cross-functional commitments, design review cadence, supplier escalation path, and optical performance accountability across programs. The Director is expected to have sufficient technical depth to challenge optical architecture decisions, guide trade studies, review risk, and represent optics credibly at the executive level. This role remains technically engaged, but it is not intended to be the primary day-to-day individual contributor for detailed optical modeling, calibration algorithm development, lab execution, or supplier technical package generation.
The Principal Optical Engineer owns detailed optical architecture execution, optical modeling, prototype analysis, calibration and characterization strategy, technical supplier engagement, root-cause investigation, and hands-on optical problem solving.
Together, the Director and Principal Optical Engineer operate as a high-leverage pair: the Director creates organizational leverage, prioritization, accountability, and cross-functional alignment; the Principal Optical Engineer drives technical depth, design execution, and optical problem solving.
Key Responsibilities
Leadership & Strategy
Lead, mentor, and grow the Optics Department across multiple sites, including Principal and Senior Optical Engineers, optical technicians, and metrology specialists.
Define and own the optics technology roadmap, aligning near-term program deliverables with long-term capability building and future optical architectures.
Create role clarity, decision rights, and an org structure that preserves focus as programs multiply and the company scales.
Drive recruiting efforts to attract elite optical talent in a competitive market while maintaining a high hiring bar and strong retention outcomes.
Build structured growth plans for team members, deliberately developing future technical leaders and people managers from within the optics organization.
Maintain culture consistency across sites by leading with accountability, empathy, transparency, and genuine investment in each person's development.
Technical Direction & Optical Review
Provide technical oversight and design review for ultra-wide field-of-view AR headset optics, freeform combiners, waveguides, HOE/PVH elements, display/backlight integration, eye-tracking optical paths, and future optical architectures.
Guide trade studies across field of view, brightness, contrast, eyebox, MTF, distortion, pupil swim, color uniformity, environmental stability, manufacturability, cost, and schedule risk.
Establish technical standards for optical tolerancing, image quality, stray light, radiometry, photometry, color science, display performance, calibration repeatability, and headset-level optical metrology.
Ensure consistent use of appropriate optical design, simulation, and analysis workflows, including tools such as Code V, Zemax OpticStudio, Python, MATLAB, FRED, LightTools, JMP, or equivalent tools where appropriate.
Direct the evolution of optical characterization and validation capabilities, including measurement standards, interferometry protocols, MTF processes, acceptance criteria, and golden-sample strategy.
Ensure optical designs are not only innovative, but also testable, manufacturable, supportable, and ready to transition into product programs.
Program Execution & Product Integration
Own the optical program lifecycle from requirements definition through prototype validation, production transition, fielding, and continuous improvement feedback loops.
Partner with Product, R&D, Manufacturing, Software, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Supply Chain, and Program Management to ensure optical requirements are integrated at the system level.
Coordinate with Supply Chain and technical staff to manage supplier relationships for optical components and subassemblies, including escalation, risk mitigation, and capacity planning.
Standardize design review and prototype-driven development workflows across the optics team, improving schedule predictability through structured design maturity gates.
Build repeatable systems for multi-program optical development and validation, including DFM checklists, QA alignment, traceability, issue tracking, documentation standards, and decision logs.
Translate manufacturing, field, customer, and demo feedback into corrective actions, roadmap updates, and measurable improvements in optical performance and reliability.
Support customer integration activities and provide credible technical input for government, defense, and strategic partnership programs.
Strategic Impact
Elevate optics as a center of excellence and a driver of innovation, competitive differentiation, product identity, and customer value - not merely a delivery function.
Define and protect Red 6's visual performance envelope across clarity, brightness, field of view, contrast, comfort, calibration quality, and manufacturability.
Influence product vision and long-term roadmap decisions at the executive level, ensuring optical dependencies and risks are visible early.
Reduce organizational burden on senior leadership through unified accountability, consistent standards, and scalable execution systems.
Success in the Role
An approved optics roadmap and ownership model are in place across major programs and optical subassemblies.
Optics has a clear design review cadence, stage-gate framework, decision log, work register, and escalation model.
Optics documentation, metrology, QA, DFM, test procedures, and product-transition templates are aligned with Product and Manufacturing standards.
Optical risks are visible early, tied to program milestones, and actively managed before they become schedule or customer issues.
The optics team is more autonomous, better organized, and developing future technical and people leaders.
The Director and Principal Optical Engineer operate as a high-leverage pair: organizational accountability and technical execution are both clearly owned.
Required Qualifications
M.S., Ph.D., or equivalent industry experience in Optical Engineering, Physics, Applied Physics, or a closely related technical field.
12+ years of progressive experience developing complex optical systems, with significant experience in near-eye displays, AR/VR, HMDs, imaging systems, projection systems, aerospace/defense optics, or other high-performance optical hardware.
5+ years leading optical engineers, technical leads, technicians, metrology personnel, or cross-functional hardware teams.
Demonstrated ability to take optical systems from concept through prototype, validation, production transition, customer integration, and continuous improvement.
Strong technical credibility in optical architecture, optical tolerancing, metrology, image quality, MTF, distortion, stray light, radiometry, photometry, display performance, or headset characterization.
Practical experience reviewing or guiding work in optical design and analysis tools such as Code V, Zemax OpticStudio, Python, MATLAB, FRED, LightTools, JMP, or equivalent engineering toolchains.
Experience building scalable engineering processes, including design reviews, stage gates, documentation standards, test plans, issue tracking, supplier review, manufacturing feedback loops, and decision records.
Proven ability to partner with Product, Manufacturing, Software, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Supply Chain, Program Management, and external suppliers.
Strong executive communication skills, including the ability to explain optical trade-offs, risks, and roadmap decisions to non-optical stakeholders.
U.S. citizenship required; must be eligible for and willing to obtain a security clearance.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience with ultra-wide-FOV AR systems, freeform combiners, waveguides, holographic optical elements, polarization volume holograms, holographic backlights, or laser/display illumination architectures.
Experience with LCoS, MicroLED, DMD, laser backlights, polarization optics, display color calibration, color uniformity, or human visual system modeling.
Hands-on background with optical metrology platforms such as interferometry, MTF measurement, distortion mapping, radiometry, photometry, calibration pipelines, and headset characterization.
Experience with optical manufacturing methods such as diamond turning, injection molding, thin-film coatings, holographic recording, first-article inspection, incoming inspection, SPC, and yield improvement.
Experience with eye-tracking optics, including illumination architecture, pupil imaging, pupil replication, and integration with gaze estimation pipelines.
Experience in defense, aerospace, military training systems, SBIR/STTR environments, or venture-backed hardware companies.
Experience building distributed teams across multiple locations while maintaining culture, execution discipline, and technical standards.
Full-Time Employee Benefits
Healthcare, Dental, and Vision (100% coverage for Employees)
Paid time off, including vacation, sick, paid holidays, and parental leave
Short and Long-Term Disability
Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
401(k) Retirement Plan
Voluntary Worksite Benefits (Accident, Critical Illness, and Hospital Indemnity)
May be eligible for a discretionary annual bonus based on individual and company performance, subject to plan terms.
Note
Red 6 reserves the right to change its current benefits program at any time, in a manner that is consistent with applicable federal and state regulations.
This job description is not a contract and confers no contractual rights, privileges, or benefits on any applicant or potential applicant. Red 6 has the right to change any and all terms of this job description, including, but not limited to, job responsibilities, qualifications, and benefits. Nothing in this job description constitutes an offer or guarantee of employment.
Red Six Aerospace, Inc, is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
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