Photonics engineers design laser and fiber optic technology.

Photonics is the science of controlling and transmitting light. This is often accomplished by using laser or fiber optic technology.

Lasers and fiber optics technology has many uses:

• In medicine, surgeons use lasers for delicate surgery
• In manufacturing, lasers are used for sensing, marking, and cutting
• The military uses lasers to aim weapons accurately
• In telecommunications, lasers are used in computer networks

Most photonics engineers create new systems and devices that use optics and photonics. They develop prototypes (or models) and test their designs. Engineers in this field spend a lot of time testing system performance to make sure a system or product works effectively and efficiently.

Photonics engineers usually specialize in one of three areas:

• Solving problems relating to light sources in fiber optics
• Refining the purity of optical fibers
• Lasers and laser optics

Because this is a growing field, photonics engineers also spend a lot of time keeping up to date with new developments in optics and laser technology.