An optically shielded (thermally assisted magnetic recording (TAMR) head comprises a perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) write head and a near-field transducer (NFT) having an emerging peg at the air-bearing surface (ABS). Self-aligned optical side shields (SA-OSS) are formed using a self-aligning process that positions the shields symmetrically relative to the emergent peg of the NFT. As a result of the symmetric positioning the down-track and cross-track near-field and near-field gradients are significantly sharpened.