After finishing his masters, Gutiérrez Vega spent some years working in fiber optics, participating in projects in various parts of Mexico. After his doctorate, he moved into research, joining the Optics Center of the physic department at Tec de Monterrey, Campus Monterrey when it was established by the school system. He became the center’s director in 2005 and is also the head of the Photonics and Mathematical Optics Group. The Optics Center researches lasers, fiber optics and more, both in theory and practical applications. Gutiérrez Vega considers the center is “second family.”