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Photonics Technician resume example

A resume for a Photonics Technician needs to show the work itself: build, install, test, or maintain optical or fiber optic equipment, such as lasers, lenses, or mirrors, using spectrometers, interferometers, or related equipment. Day to day that means work like this: compute or record photonic test data; maintain clean working environments, according to clean room standards. 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.

  • Fiber Optics Instructor
  • Laser Technician
  • Laser Tech
  • Optics Technician
  • Optics Tech
  • Photonics Tech
  • Fiber Optics Technician
  • Fiber Optics Tech
  • Optomechanical Technician
  • Optomechanical Tech
  • Photonics Laboratory Technician
  • Photonics Lab Tech
  • Ruling Technician
  • Ruling Tech
  • Certified Laser Tech
  • Electro-Optics Tech
  • Fiber Optics Design Tech
  • Healthcare Laser Tech

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

What people in this job call themselves

Titles reported by people actually doing this work, which is often not the title on the job posting.

  • Fiber Optics Technician (Fiber Optics Tech)
  • Laser Technician (Laser Tech)
  • Optics Technician (Optics Tech)
  • Optomechanical Technician (Optomechanical Tech)
  • Photonics Laboratory Technician (Photonics Lab Tech)
  • Photonics Technician (Photonics Tech)
  • Ruling Technician (Ruling Tech)

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.

  • Compute or record photonic test data.
  • Maintain clean working environments, according to clean room standards.
  • Adjust or maintain equipment, such as lasers, laser systems, microscopes, oscilloscopes, pulse generators, power meters, beam analyzers, or energy measurement devices.
  • Document procedures, such as calibration of optical or fiber optic equipment.
  • Set up or operate assembly or processing equipment, such as lasers, cameras, die bonders, wire bonders, dispensers, reflow ovens, soldering irons, die shears, wire pull testers, temperature or humidity chambers, or optical spectrum analyzers.
  • Assist scientists or engineers in the conduct of photonic experiments.
  • Test or perform failure analysis for optomechanical or optoelectrical products, according to test plans.
  • Assist engineers in the development of new products, fixtures, tools, or processes.
  • Recommend optical or optic equipment design or material changes to reduce costs or processing times.
  • Set up or operate prototype or test apparatus, such as control consoles, collimators, recording equipment, or cables.
  • Monitor inventory levels and order supplies as necessary.
  • Assemble fiber optical, optoelectronic, or free-space optics components, subcomponents, assemblies, or subassemblies.

24 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.

  • Compute or record photonic test data, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Maintain clean working environments, according to clean room standards, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Adjust or maintain equipment, such as lasers, laser systems, microscopes, oscilloscopes, pulse generators, power meters, beam analyzers, or energy measurement devices, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Document procedures, such as calibration of optical or fiber optic equipment, 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.

  • Autodesk AutoCAD
  • Computer aided design CAD software
  • Computer aided manufacturing CAM software
  • Dassault Systemes SolidWorks
  • Data acquisition software
  • Database software
  • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
  • Facebook
  • Image processing software
  • Microsoft Access
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Microsoft Word

22 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

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

  • Abrasive grinding machines
  • Analog oscilloscopes
  • Atomic force microscopes AFM
  • Autocollimators
  • Bench refractometers
  • Binocular light compound microscopes
  • Biosafety cabinets
  • Bit error rate testers BERT
  • Calipers
  • Chemical protective face shields
  • Chemical vapor deposition CVD systems
  • Collimators

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. 01Reading Comprehension
  2. 02Active Listening
  3. 03Critical Thinking
  4. 04Operations Monitoring
  5. 05Quality Control Analysis
  6. 06Active Learning
  7. 07Equipment Maintenance
  8. 08Monitoring
  9. 09Complex Problem Solving
  10. 10Speaking

Knowledge areas

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

  • Engineering and Technology
  • Computers and Electronics
  • Mathematics
  • Mechanical
  • English Language
  • Production and Processing
  • Physics
  • Customer and Personal Service

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.

  • 41%Associate's Degree
  • 27%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
  • 14%Bachelor's Degree

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Medium Preparation Needed”. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Common questions

What does a Photonics Technician do?
Build, install, test, or maintain optical or fiber optic equipment, such as lasers, lenses, or mirrors, using spectrometers, interferometers, or related equipment. Day to day that includes work like compute or record photonic test data and Maintain clean working environments, according to clean room standards.
What skills should a Photonics Technician put on a resume?
O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Operations Monitoring, and Quality Control Analysis 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 Photonics Technician list?
Software recorded for this occupation includes Autodesk AutoCAD, Computer aided design CAD software, Computer aided manufacturing CAM software, Dassault Systemes SolidWorks, and Data acquisition software. 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 Photonics Technician work?
O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Fiber Optics Instructor, Laser Technician, Laser Tech, and Optics Technician. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Photonics Technician need?
In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 41% reported their level of education as "Associate's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Photonics 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.