Back to all roles

XR, Holographic & Virtual Labs

/

Senior leadership

Principal Optics Engineer

Near-eye Optics & Holography

Lead Full-Time Guwahati (on-site) / Hyderabad / Bangalore — hardware lab access required Permanent

Compensation

INR 40 - 70 LPA + equity.

Engagement

Full-Time

Permanent role. Full-time commitment. Remote-first, with periodic in-person off-sites.

Scope of role

Set direction within your domain. Build and mentor a team. Own outcomes at the function level.

01 — The role

Why this role exists at EduRankAI

The most senior optics engineer at the company. You will own the optical design of the AquinTutor holographic display end-to-end — waveguides, diffractive optical elements, eye-box engineering, brightness budgets. You will partner with manufacturing on fabrication tolerances, with display engineering on the source pipeline, and with the graphics team on what is actually achievable.

02 — The work

What you will own

  • 01 Own the optical architecture of the AquinTutor holographic display.
  • 02 Lead optical design + simulation (Zemax / CODE V / Lumerical).
  • 03 Run prototype builds in the optics lab.
  • 04 Partner with manufacturing on yield and tolerance budgets.
  • 05 Mentor the optics engineering team.
  • 06 Author the optical design document and defend it in technical review.

03 — The expertise

What we look for

Near-eye optics + waveguide design at production depthHolographic optical elementsOptical simulation (Zemax / CODE V / Lumerical)Hands-on prototype buildingStrong writer

04 — The bar

Who thrives here

  • You have shipped a near-eye optical system to at least pilot production.
  • You can read a Zemax layout and find the design margin.
  • You have led the optical design of at least one custom AR or holographic device.
  • You write design documents that other optical engineers learn from.

05 — How we work

The EduRankAI environment

Where you work matters

This role is based in Guwahati (on-site) / Hyderabad / Bangalore — hardware lab access required. We chose this on purpose — the work calls for proximity, collaboration, and presence. We will help with relocation where appropriate.

High autonomy, high standards

We hire adults and trust them. You will be expected to set your own goals, communicate clearly, and ship.

Builders, not bureaucrats

We optimise for clarity over process. Make the call, ship the work, write up what you learned.

Bharat-built, globally ambitious

We are an Indian frontier AI lab. We build for India first and the world second — in that order.

06 — Hiring process

What to expect after you apply

  1. 01

    Application review

    Every application is read personally within five business days. We respond either way.

  2. 02

    Take-home or live exercise

    Role-specific. Time-boxed. Real problems we are actually working on, not invented puzzles.

  3. 03

    Conversations

    Deep technical and values conversations with the team you would join. No trick questions. No panel ambushes.

  4. 04

    Offer or honest no

    If yes: digital offer letter, signed in-portal, transparent terms. If no: written feedback if you want it.

Before you start

What we will collect. What it costs. What we will not do with it.

Application fee

CHF 100

Lead tier

We will collect

  • Name, email, phone — Account + application updates. No marketing.
  • Resume / portfolio link — Human review of your work.
  • Date + place of birth — Identity verification only.
  • Your written responses — Selection rubric. Read by humans.
  • Government ID (later) — Anti-fraud at offer / interview stage. Not at signup.

We will never

  • Sell your data
  • Share with third-party recruiters
  • Use for advertising
  • Train models on it
  • Send marketing email

Our situation

EduRankAI is a small, independent organization building long-term capabilities in educational intelligence, advanced AI systems, and research infrastructure. We take no advertiser money, no donations with strings attached, and no investor pressure on hiring decisions. The small per-application fee covers the real cost of processing your application — human review, identity verification, infrastructure, reviewer time. It buys us the right to be honest. Genuine financial hardship? Request a fee waiver inside the application — reviewed individually within 5 business days, with no record in your file and no second-class treatment of waiver-granted applications.

Full transparency policy Why we charge a fee Questions? Email us

Ready to apply?

We read every application personally. If you are the right person for this role — regardless of pedigree, background, or where you are based — you will hear back from us within five business days.

Lead Full-Time

Principal Optics Engineer

Apply →