Senior Project Engineer / Senior Project Engineeress

Your Mission

The Senior Project Engineer role is pivotal in supporting Menhir Photonics' continued growth, industrialization, and execution of advanced laser technology projects. This senior hybrid position entails approximately 60% technical project and program management alongside 40% hands-on R&D and laser engineering. It requires a deep expertise in laser physics, ultrafast lasers, optics, and nonlinear optics, coupled with the ability to structure, coordinate, and drive complex technical development activities involving both internal teams and external partners.

Your Profile

Key Responsibilities

• Plan, structure, coordinate, and execute strategic technical projects and programs, including internal development, customer projects, industrialization, collaborative research, public funding programs, and international development initiatives.
• Define work packages, milestones, deliverables, responsibilities, dependencies, decision points, and reporting mechanisms, translating high-level objectives into actionable engineering activities.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary work across R&D, laser and optical engineering, mechanical and electronics engineering, product development, industrialization, manufacturing, testing, operations, and quality-related functions.
• Monitor progress, follow up on actions, identify risks and bottlenecks early, escalate critical issues as necessary, and support mitigation plans to maintain project momentum.
• Facilitate technical discussions, meetings, deliverables, reporting, and alignment with customers, industrial partners, suppliers, research institutions, funding organizations, and other collaborators.

Hands-On R&D & Laser Engineering

• Contribute directly to the development of advanced laser systems, ultrafast laser technology, optical and nonlinear optical systems, and innovative laser concepts.
• Utilize expertise in ultrafast laser physics, nonlinear optics and frequency conversion, resonator and optical system design, pulse propagation and characterization, laser stability and noise, and advanced optical components.
• Analyze complex technical problems, plan and conduct experiments, interpret data, identify root causes, and implement engineering improvements.
• Support product development and industrialization initiatives by enhancing robustness, reproducibility, manufacturability, and technical readiness.

Success Criteria

Success in this role is reflected in well-structured projects, clearly defined deliverables, effective milestone monitoring, early risk identification, strong stakeholder alignment, meaningful technical contributions, and enhanced R&D and engineering capabilities.

Skills & Experience

• Demonstrated senior technical leadership through expertise, structured coordination, mentoring, collaboration, and contributions to technical decision-making without immediate formal line-management responsibility.
• Strong background in physics, laser physics, photonics, optics, electrical engineering, engineering physics, or a related discipline.
• Substantial experience in laser development, ultrafast lasers, nonlinear optics, optical engineering, R&D engineering, technical project management, and complex technology development programs.
• A minimum of 10 years of industry experience is required.
• A Master's degree or PhD is preferred.

Languages

Fluent English and proficiency in German are required.

Terms of Employment

• Workload: 100%; maximum 5% travel
• Working arrangements: On-site
• Location: Headquarters in Stettbach, near Zurich, Switzerland
• Preferred start date: ASAP

Apply online using the form below. Please note that only applications matching the job profile will be considered.