Jobs / Architecture and engineering / 17-3029.08
Photonics Technicians
Build, install, test, or maintain optical or fiber optic equipment, such as lasers, lenses, or mirrors, using spectrometers, interferometers, or related equipment.
- US jobs
- 59,930 (SOC 17-3029 group, "Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other")
- Median wage
- $78,350 a year
- Job family
- Architecture and engineering
Can agents do the work of photonics technicians?
We read the evidence at the level of the job family, Architecture and engineering:
- Task levelUnexploredNo task-level benchmark in our collection tests architecture or engineering design work, such as CAD modeling or engineering calculations.
- Project levelNot yetWhole projects are mostly out of reach. The Remote Labor Index includes 3D, CAD, and architecture projects; across all its projects, the best agent completed 15.8% to a standard a client would accept. GDPval includes mechanical engineers, and its deliverables score higher, but those tasks are one-shot and fully specified.
Benchmarks for the job family
These cover work in architecture and engineering, not always this occupation's tasks.
- 1846 EloClaude Opus 5.5 (Adaptive Reasoning, Max Effort, Default Fallback) · 23 Sep 2026Unrated
Typical tasks
From O*NET 31.0. Core tasks first. Few of these tasks have a benchmark today.
- 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.
Other job titles for this occupation (41)
Fiber Optics Instructor · 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) · Certified Laser Technician (Certified Laser Tech) · Electro-Optics Technician (Electro-Optics Tech) · Fiber Optics Assembler · Fiber Optics Cabling Specialist · Fiber Optics Design Technician (Fiber Optics Design Tech) · Fiber Optics Specialist · Fiber Optics Splicer · Fiber Splicer · Fiber Technician (Fiber Tech) · Healthcare Laser Technician (Healthcare Laser Tech) · Installation Technician (Installation Tech) · Laser Assembly Technician (Laser Assembly Tech) · Laser Operator · Laser Scanners Technician (Laser Scanners Tech) · Laser Specialist · Medical Laser Technician (Medical Laser Tech) · Mobile Laser Technician (Mobile Laser Tech) · Mobile Technician (Mobile Tech) · Optical Engineering Technician (Optical Engineering Tech) · Optical Fabrication Technician (Optical Fabrication Tech) · Optical Manufacturing Technician (Optical Manufacturing Tech) · Optics Manufacturing Technician (Optics Manufacturing Tech) · Optics Test Technician (Optics Test Tech) · Optoelectronic Technician (Optoelectronic Tech) · Photonics Engineer · Photonics Engineering Technician (Photonics Engineering Tech) · Photonics Engineering Technologist · Removal Technician (Removal Tech) · Splicing Technician (Splicing Tech) · Strain Technician (Strain Tech) · Surgical Laser Technician (Surgical Laser Tech) · Test Technician (Test Tech) · Thin Film Technician (Thin Film Tech)