Wavefront runners since 1996

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THE STORY

Imagine Optic was founded in 1996 by Samuel and Xavier, both recent graduates from the Institut d’Optique. Aiming first at the emerging laser rangefinders market, they soon pivoted to Shack Hartmann-based wavefront sensing, with Sam growing the business and Xavier developing the technology. The pair was soon joined by Guillaume, Laurent and Jérôme to lead industrialization in both its technical and manufacturing dimensions.

The upstart period was driven by cutting-edge research in optics, photonics and optics-hungry research fields such as astronomy or ophthalmology. This research led to a deep understanding of the coupling of wavefront science with state-of-the-art technologies and user applications-based interfaces, that is, powerful software. In the following 20 years, Imagine Optic was able to deepen those core technological skills and grow them into a full range of wavefront sensors that are now considered a benchmark across many scientific communities.

The original PH-Line and its H-Line successor were the first wavefront sensors to go into serial production. In 1999, the first HASO sensors came to light; the embedded rectangular CCD sensor proved a game-changer by drastically upgrading the sampling quality. From the 1999 v1 to the 2009 v3, HASO was the name of both the hardware and the software; the software became Waveview in 2016.

Imagine Optic is a global niche leader, with a 10-year presence on US soil, a 5-year steady expansion in China, and a worldwide network of distributors.

Our clients are leading tech corporations and public research institutions in a wide range of sectors, including astronomy, air & space, eyewear, ultra-intense lasers, microscopy, semiconductors, autonomous cars and many more. They are as wide and varied as the uses and applications of optics and photonics.

Innovations is our game, in every aspect of our business: from software and algorithms to technical know-how and patents, from understanding our clients’ perspectives and specific needs to making sure we provide adequate information to the larger community.

Along with our sister companies, Imagine Eyes and Axiom Optics , our community is nearly 70 people strong. We are headquartered in Orsay, 25 km south of Paris, in the vicinity of France’s leading technology cluster Paris-Saclay.

Roughly put, our craft is a combination of optics, photonics, mechanics, electronics, math, physics, algorithms, software development and design, R&D and manufacturing, and precise quality control. Our sales teams are highly qualified specialists with strong technical or scientific backgrounds.

The rest of the crew has more diversified backgrounds, as one might expect: from HR to marketing to production, and all of us enjoy working together as a rather informal, pastry-fueled and deeply committed team. As far as cultures and nationalities, Imagine Optic very much reflects both the geographical scope of our clients and the diversity expected within a sizable academic lab or an international company.

We are an equal opportunity employer and look for talent on a regular basis.