Optical Design Jobs in Chicago, IL (NOW HIRING)

At a Glance

Legrand has an exciting opportunity for a Optical Engineer - Lighting Products to join the Focal Point Team in Chicago, IL. The Optical Engineer will design, develop, and optimize optical systems for advanced lighting products. The ideal candidate will work closely with mechanical, electrical, and industrial design teams to create high-performance optical solutions that deliver superior illumination quality, efficiency, and visual comfort. This role requires strong expertise in optical design, simulation, prototyping, and validation of LED-based lighting systems. This position reports to the Sr. Director, Engineering.

What Will You Do?

Design and develop optical systems for LED lighting products, including lenses, reflectors, light guides, diffusers, and optical films.
• Perform optical modeling and simulation to optimize light distribution, efficiency, and glare control.
• Develop optical concepts that meet photometric, aesthetic, and regulatory requirements.
• Use optical simulation software (e.g., LightTools, Zemax OpticStudio, TracePro, or LucidShape) to model and validate designs.
• Collaborate with mechanical engineering teams to integrate optics into manufacturable luminaire designs.
• Work with suppliers to develop and evaluate optical components such as lenses, reflectors, and diffusers.
• Build and test prototypes, conduct photometric measurements, and validate optical performance using goniophotometers and integrating spheres.
• Analyze test data and iterate designs to improve performance, uniformity, and efficiency.
• Ensure compliance with relevant lighting standards and regulations (IES, UL, energy codes).
• Support new product development from concept through production release.

Key Competencies:

• Optical design and ray tracing
• LED optics and light distribution design
• Photometric testing and analysis
• Cross-functional engineering collaboration
• Product development lifecycle management

Education: Bachelor's or master's degree in Optical Engineering, Physics, Electrical Engineering, or related field.

Experience:

• 3+ years of experience in optical design for LED lighting or illumination systems (commercial, architectural, automotive, or consumer lighting).
• Strong understanding of non-imaging optics and illumination design.
• Experience with optical simulation and ray-tracing software.
• Knowledge of LED sources, color mixing, light extraction, and glare control techniques.
• Experience working with injection-molded optics, reflectors, and light guide technologies.
• Familiarity with photometric measurement equipment and lighting standards.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience designing optics for architectural or commercial luminaires.
• Familiarity with IESNA lighting standards and photometric files (IES/LDT).
• Experience with tolerance analysis and optical manufacturing constraints.
• Knowledge of human-centric lighting, color quality (CRI/TM-30), and glare metrics (UGR).
• Experience with CAD tools such as SolidWorks or PTC Creo.

Salary Range: $120,000 - $130,000 starting base plus bonus

About Legrand

Legrand is the global specialist in electrical and digital building infrastructures. Our comprehensive offering of solutions for residential, commercial, and data center markets makes us a benchmark for customers worldwide. We harness technological and societal trends with lasting impacts on buildings with the purpose of improving life by transforming the spaces where people live, work, and meet with electrical and digital infrastructures and connected solutions that are simple, innovative, and sustainable. Legrand is a global, publicly traded company listed on the Euronext (Legrand SA EPA: LR). For more information, visit www.legrandgroup.com/en

About Legrand North and Central America

Legrand, North & Central America (LNCA) is a leader in the AV, Lighting & Controls, Electrical, and Data Center markets. LNCA offers comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, as well as distinctive benefits like a high employer 401K match, paid time off (PTO) and holiday pay, short-term and long-term disability benefit plans, above-benchmark paid maternity and parental leave, bonus opportunities in accordance with the Company's incentive plans, paid time off to volunteer, and an active/growing Employee Resource Group network. For more information, visit legrand.us

About Legrand's Lighting Sector

Legrand's Lighting Sector consists of five lighting brands; Pinnacle, Finelite, Focal Point, and OCL which focus on architectural, decorative, and downlighting and Kenall which focuses on lighting for demanding environments. We employ a talented group of employees that love lighting to design and manufacture high performance, energy efficient LED lighting solutions for applications in commercial, educational, healthcare, as well as challenging environments such as tunnels and correctional facilities. With an eye toward sustainable design, our focus is on specification-oriented products and solutions that meet the functional needs of spaces while working in harmony with the designer's vision for those spaces. We work with architects, engineers, and contractors to supply lighting built specifically for their client's projects.

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Equal Opportunity Employer