Optical Designer – Automotive Holographic Display Systems (f/m/x) (m/w/d)

Step out of your comfort zone, excel and redefine the limits of what is possible. That's just what our employees are doing every single day – in order to set the pace through our innovations and enable outstanding achievements. After all, behind every successful company are many great fascinating people.

In a spacious modern setting full of opportunities for further development, ZEISS employees work in a place where expert knowledge and team spirit reign supreme. All of this is supported by a special ownership structure and the long-term goal of the Carl Zeiss Foundation: to bring science and society into the future together.

Join us today. Inspire people tomorrow.

Diversity is a part of ZEISS. We look forward to receiving your application regardless of gender, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion, philosophy of life, disability, age, sexual orientation or identity.

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Step out of your comfort zone, excel and redefine the limits of what is possible. That's just what our employees are doing every single day – in order to set the pace through our innovations and enable outstanding achievements. After all, behind every successful company are many great fascinating people.

ZEISS Microoptics is a unit within the strategic business area Photonics & Optics and specializes in the development, optimization, mastering, replication, and integration of optical applications based on micro-optical and holographic optical elements. We develop and manufacture holographic and micro-optical solutions for established industries as well as for complex research and space projects, while simultaneously driving scale-up in the automotive and aerospace sectors. Shape the next generation of holographic display solutions – from optical system concepts to fully functional customer prototypes.

Your Role

• Develop and optimize optical system designs for automotive applications, with a focus on holographic display architectures

• Translate system requirements into robust optical concepts and evaluate their performance, including tolerancing and straylight analysis

• Ensure the optical system design is well aligned with Picture Generation Units (PGUs), considering interfaces, constraints, and system-level performance

• Apply your experience in series development and production of automotive display systems to ensure designs meet industrialization, robustness, and cost requirements

• Collaborate closely with interdisciplinary teams, including mechanical, electronics, and software engineering, to ensure system performance and feasibility

• Support project leaders in technical discussions with internal and external stakeholders, including customers and suppliers

• Investigate and resolve practical challenges during development and integration phases

• Support validation activities, including simulation, testing, and performance verification of optical systems

• Contribute to the development and improvement of internal tools, simulation methods, and modeling approaches

• Degree in physics, photonics, optical engineering, mathematics, or a comparable field

• Proven experience in optical design within an industrial environment combined with knowledge of automotive standards and development processes

• Solid experience in series development and production of automotive display systems (e.g., Head-Up Displays or comparable technologies)

• Strong expertise in the design and development of display systems, including understanding of system architecture and performance drivers

• Experience working with ray tracing and optical simulation tools such as Zemax, LightTools, FRED, or CODE V, Programming skills in Python, MATLAB, C++, or C# are an advantage

• Solid background in optical simulation, including tolerancing, straylight analysis, and system optimization

• Strong understanding of Picture Generation Units (PGUs) and display technologies, including their impact on optical system performance and integration

• Fluent in German and English (minimum B1 level) and strong communication skills, intercultural competence, and a collaborative mindset

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