An apparatus is described for aligning an actuator lens of an optical disk drive or the like within a baseplate assembly. The apparatus comprises a frame, a cradle assembly mounted to the frame with at least one degree of freedom of motion, a tower assembly mounted to the frame, a lever assembly rotatably mounted to the frame, and a gripper assembly mounted to the lever assembly. The cradle assembly includes a baseplate alignment assembly comprising a source of radiant energy for projecting a beam of radiant energy, means for determining the tilt alignment of the beam with respect to the tower assembly, and a plurality of tilt actuators for aligning the tilt of the beam with respect to the tower assembly. The baseplate alignment may further comprise means for determining the lateral alignment of the beam with respect to the tower assembly and a plurality of lateral actuators for aligning the beam laterally with respect to the tower assembly. The tower assembly comprises a video camera having a camera lens, a tower magnifying lens, and a monitor for displaying a representation of a beam of radiant energy passing through the tower magnifying lens and into the video camera. The gripper assembly comprises an objective lens assembly, an objective lens mounted to the objective lens assembly, an objective lens alignment assembly for aligning the objective lens with respect to the tower assembly and the cradle assembly, and an actuator lens tilt assembly for aligning the actuator lens with respect to the tower assembly and the cradle assembly.