Build free

Ophthalmic Laboratory Technician resume example

A resume for a Ophthalmic Laboratory Technician needs to show the work itself: cut, grind, and polish eyeglasses, contact lenses, or other precision optical elements. Day to day that means work like this: mount and secure lens blanks or optical lenses in holding tools or chucks of cutting, polishing, grinding, or coating machines; inspect lens blanks to detect flaws, verify smoothness of surface, and ensure thickness of coating on lenses. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

  • Lab Technician
  • Laboratory Technician
  • Optical Lab Technician
  • Optical Laboratory Technician
  • Optical Technician
  • Surfacing Technician
  • Edger Technician
  • Finishing Lab Technician
  • Lens Grinder and Polisher
  • Line Operator
  • Polisher
  • Hospital Lab Technician
  • Artificial Glass Eye Maker
  • Artificial Plastic Eye Maker
  • Bench Hand
  • Benchroom Shop Optician
  • Bevel Polisher
  • Beveler

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

  • Mount and secure lens blanks or optical lenses in holding tools or chucks of cutting, polishing, grinding, or coating machines.
  • Inspect lens blanks to detect flaws, verify smoothness of surface, and ensure thickness of coating on lenses.
  • Set up machines to polish, bevel, edge, or grind lenses, flats, blanks, or other precision optical elements.
  • Inspect, weigh, and measure mounted or unmounted lenses after completion to verify alignment and conformance to specifications, using precision instruments.
  • Shape lenses appropriately so that they can be inserted into frames.
  • Clean finished lenses and eyeglasses, using cloths and solvents.
  • Mount, secure, and align finished lenses in frames or optical assemblies, using precision hand tools.
  • Examine prescriptions, work orders, or broken or used eyeglasses to determine specifications for lenses, contact lenses, or other optical elements.
  • Adjust lenses and frames to correct alignment.
  • Select lens blanks, molds, tools, and polishing or grinding wheels, according to production specifications.
  • Position and adjust cutting tools to specified curvature, dimensions, and depth of cut.
  • Assemble eyeglass frames and attach shields, nose pads, and temple pieces, using pliers, screwdrivers, and drills.

18 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

  • Mount and secure lens blanks or optical lenses in holding tools or chucks of cutting, polishing, grinding, or coating machines, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Inspect lens blanks to detect flaws, verify smoothness of surface, and ensure thickness of coating on lenses, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Set up machines to polish, bevel, edge, or grind lenses, flats, blanks, or other precision optical elements, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Inspect, weigh, and measure mounted or unmounted lenses after completion to verify alignment and conformance to specifications, using precision instruments, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

  • Electronic medical record EMR software
  • Eyeglass design software
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Microsoft Word
  • SAP software

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

  • 3-way screwdrivers
  • Angling pliers
  • Argon lasers
  • Ball cutters
  • Bench polishers
  • Bent post pliers
  • Carbon dioxide CO2 lasers
  • Chipping pliers
  • Corneal topographers
  • Cutting pliers
  • Deblocking pliers
  • Diagnostic retinoscopes

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

  1. 01Operation and Control
  2. 02Operations Monitoring
  3. 03Quality Control Analysis
  4. 04Time Management
  5. 05Critical Thinking
  6. 06Judgment and Decision Making
  7. 07Monitoring
  8. 08Reading Comprehension

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

  • Production and Processing
  • Mechanical
  • Mathematics
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Administration and Management

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

  • 56%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
  • 15%Some College Courses
  • 9%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Some Preparation Needed”. These occupations usually require a high school diploma.

Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.

Common questions

What does a Ophthalmic Laboratory Technician do?
Cut, grind, and polish eyeglasses, contact lenses, or other precision optical elements. Day to day that includes work like mount and secure lens blanks or optical lenses in holding tools or chucks of cutting, polishing, grinding, or coating machines and Inspect lens blanks to detect flaws, verify smoothness of surface, and ensure thickness of coating on lenses.
What skills should a Ophthalmic Laboratory Technician put on a resume?
O*NET rates Operation and Control, Operations Monitoring, Quality Control Analysis, Time Management, and Critical Thinking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Ophthalmic Laboratory Technician list?
Software recorded for this occupation includes Electronic medical record EMR software, Eyeglass design software, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, and Microsoft Outlook. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Ophthalmic Laboratory Technician work?
O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Lab Technician, Laboratory Technician, Optical Lab Technician, and Optical Laboratory Technician. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Ophthalmic Laboratory Technician need?
In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 56% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Ophthalmic Laboratory Technician role?
No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

  • No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
  • This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
  • Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.