OSA Careers

OSA is a great place to work! With its attractive benefits package, community atmosphere and stimulating environment, the Society offers diverse and challenging opportunities for personal and professional growth. OSA fosters a productive environment in which all employees are valued as a vital part of the Society and deliver quality service to external and internal community, in compliance with all legal requirements.

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Current Employment Opportunities

Optics Express Managing Editor

Prestigious scientific association in Dupont Circle seeks Managing Editor. Successful candidate will be responsible for supervising and coordinating the publication of OSA’s flagship product Optics Express, including oversight of production staff.  Candidate must have superb electronic publications technical skills including ability to troubleshoot technical issues as they arise; proficiency with all required production software; expert knowledge of technologies for structured markup. Candidate must have strong project and people management skills and must have the ability to meet multiple deadlines under stress. Master’s degree or above preferred; Bachelor’s degree or 6 years of relevant experience required. Additional formal training or degrees desirable. Knowledge of electronic production and publishing technologies, such as XML, HTML, TeX, MS Word, Acrobat, PDF, and others.

OSA offers a competitive salary and benefits package! Submit resume with salary requirements to resumes@osa.org.

Senior Director, Conventions & Meetings

The search is under way for The Optical Society of America. Uniting more than 70,000 professionals from 134 countries, the Optical Society (OSA) brings together the global optics community through its programs and initiatives. Since 1916 OSA has worked to advance the common interests of the field, providing educational resources to the scientists, engineers and business leaders who work in the field by promoting the science of light and the advanced technologies made possible by optics and photonics. OSA publications, events, technical groups and programs foster optics knowledge and scientific collaboration among all those with an interest in optics and photonics. OSA employs 140+ professional staff at the headquarters in Washington, DC (1 block from Dupont circle Metro). For more information, visit www.osa.org. 

The Senior Director, Conferences and Meetings will work toward the strategic growth and international expansion of OSA.  Execute departmental and organizational long-range plans and objectives, oversee the planning and successful execution of OSA’s scientific topical meetings and annual conferences (ranging from 100 to 9000 attendees), assist in developing and managing budgets and related assumptions, monthly review of financial statements, estimates, cost/benefit analyses, and personnel-related issues including supervision, coaching and professional development of departmental staff.  The Senior Director, Conferences and Meetings will oversee and lead a staff of 16, including 3 Directors (Director of Special Projects and Governance, Director of Meetings, and Director, Exhibits) and manage a departmental budget of $10M. 

Successful candidates will have 8+ years of expertise with all aspects of planning meetings, conferences and exhibits, knowledge of scientific, peer-reviewed technical paper processes and publishing, and 6-8 years of experience in senior-level association management.  Please submit cover letter, resume, and salary information to:  Adam Smith - Managing Director – Adam Smith Executive Search Consultants - Email:  adamsmith@adamsmithsearch.com.

To Apply

To apply for a position, please send resume and cover letter to resumes@osa.org or fax them to 202.223.1096.