How to become an optical instrument maker or repairer

Official title: Optical instrument maker/repairer

Also called: Optical instrument maker, Optical instrument maker and repairer, Optical instrument repairer

Optical instrument maker/repairer reads blueprints and assembly drawings to assemble lenses and optical instruments, such as microscopes, telescopes, projection equipment, and medical diagnostic equipment. He/she processes, grinds, polishes, and coats glass materials, centre lenses according to the optical axis, and cements them to the optical frame.

Main tasks

• Calibrating instruments or scales, using hand tools, computer or electronic devices
• Inspecting components, connections, and drive mechanisms to detect defects

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Related jobs

• Watch/Clock assembler/repairer
• Medical device assembler/repairer
• Musical instrument maker/repairer/tuner
• Jewellery/Precious metal worker
• Potter and related worker
• Glass maker/cutter/grinder/finisher

Not sure this is for you? Take the 2-minute career quiz

Questions people ask

Will AI change the work of an optical instrument maker or repairer?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

• International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Updated 4 October 2026