Biophotonics Laser Applications Scientist

Position: Biophotonics Laser Application Scientist
Location: Rochester, NY (on-site - relocation benefit available)
Base Salary: $100,000–$120,000
Benefits: 100% employer-paid medical premiums with funded HRA, dental, vision, life insurance, 401(k) with employee match, annual bonus eligibility
Start Date: ASAP (generally within 2 months)
Contact: Andrew Millar; andrew.millar@irisscientific.com; 647-205-7151

Iris Scientific is a specialty recruitment agency laser-focused on sales, marketing, and applications roles across the North American scientific instrumentation industry. We are working with a world-leading manufacturer of advanced laser systems to find a Biophotonics Application Scientist for their North American applications team, based in Rochester, NY. A relocation package is available for the right candidate.

This is a hands-on, customer-facing role at the intersection of laser technology and biological imaging. You'll integrate the company's lasers — both ultrafast and visible/diode systems — into microscopy setups, run in-lab demonstrations that prove performance against real customer requirements, and act as the technical bridge between the laser and the science it enables. You'll work alongside sales, product management, and R&D across North America and Europe.

Two-photon microscopy is the strategic focus, and the ideal candidate has personally integrated ultrafast lasers into two-photon setups — ideally on home-built or custom systems rather than turnkey commercial platforms. If you've aligned the beam path, managed dispersion and GDD compensation, and optimized pulse width at the sample plane yourself, this role was built for you. That said, the role spans the broader biophotonics portfolio, so experience with visible and diode lasers across techniques like fluorescence and confocal microscopy is valuable alongside the ultrafast work.

Just as important as the bench skill is the ability to translate: to take laser parameters — dispersion, pulse duration, repetition rate, wavelength — and explain what they mean for a biologist's image or experiment. That translation between the laser and the application is the heart of the role.

This is an exciting and rewarding opportunity for someone who: loves building and optimizing optical setups, wants to turn deep technical skill into real customer impact, and is looking for a growth path into senior customer-facing and product roles.

If this sounds like you – please get in touch.

About the Role:

The Biophotonics Application Scientist ensures that the company's laser systems meet the demands of customers' imaging applications. Two-photon microscopy is the primary focus, but the role spans the wider biophotonics range — including fluorescence and confocal techniques served by the company's visible and diode lasers. You'll design and run demonstrations that prove compatibility and performance — sometimes to answer a specific customer enquiry, sometimes as experiments with academic collaborators that showcase new product capabilities.

Working from the company's in-house demonstration systems and at customer sites, you'll define success criteria with sales and application scientists, then design and implement the experiments that measure against them. You'll also represent the company within the biophotonics community — at conferences, workshops, and in customer labs — connecting customer needs back to sales, product management, and R&D.

Key Responsibilities:

• Plan and execute laser demonstrations for key customers, both on the company's in-house microscope and at customer sites.
• Work with sales and application scientists to define the requirements for successful demonstrations, then design and build the experiments to test them.
• Integrate the company's lasers — ultrafast and visible/diode — into multiphoton, fluorescence, and confocal microscopy setups, managing dispersion and downstream optics to deliver performance at the sample plane.
• Collaborate with academic partners to develop and demonstrate new application capabilities.
• Translate laser performance into application impact — communicating the "so what" for customers' imaging and experiments.
• Write or contribute to application notes, whitepapers, and journal articles.
• Represent the company at trade shows, conferences, and workshops across the Americas.
• Visit the manufacturing facility in Europe to build familiarity with the full product range.

Key Requirements:

• PhD preferred (MSc required) in physics, biophysics, optics, or a closely related field.
• Hands-on experience integrating ultrafast lasers into two-photon microscopy, ideally on home-built or custom systems — including beam alignment, dispersion/GDD management, and pulse optimization.
• Genuine working knowledge of ultrafast laser technology and its key parameters — not laser design or build, but a real understanding of how ultrafast lasers behave and integrate.
• Familiarity with visible and diode laser systems and their use in fluorescence, confocal, and related biophotonics techniques.
• Experience with additional microscopy techniques — light sheet, spinning disk confocal, super-resolution, SHG — is a strong bonus.
• Ability to translate technical laser concepts into clear application value for biological imaging customers.
• Confident communicator in person and remotely, with excellent presentation and writing skills.
• Independent, well-organized self-starter, eager to grow within the role.
• Ability to travel up to 25% throughout the US and internationally.
• Must be authorized to work in the United States.