Standard Job Description

We are seeking a Senior Optical Engineer to design and analyze optical and electro-optical systems, primarily for space applications. Our team develops imaging, sensing, and laser systems from early concepts through flight hardware. You will own optical design and analysis for assigned systems and subsystems, support hands-on alignment, integration, and test, and collaborate across engineering disciplines to carry designs through verification. You will help set the objectives for your assignments, carry out the work independently with reviews at key milestones, develop practical solutions to complex optical problems, and work with senior engineers and program leadership on significant technical matters.

This role centers on optical design and analysis, and we do not expect experience in every area listed below. Design experience with imaging, laser, or other electro-optical systems is relevant, and space flight experience is a plus. A Master's degree or Ph.D. counts toward the experience requirement.

Responsibilities

• Develop and evaluate optical designs for assigned systems and subsystems, including refractive, reflective, and catadioptric designs (e.g., telescopes, relay optics, beam expanders).
• Build optical models to predict system performance against requirements (e.g., image quality and radiometry for imaging systems; beam propagation for laser systems).
• Analyze tolerances, sensitivities, and structural-thermal effects on optical performance (STOP), working with structural and thermal analysts, to guide fabrication, alignment, and integration.
• Work with systems engineers to derive optical requirements, and develop and maintain optical error budgets for assigned subsystems (e.g., wavefront error, MTF, line of sight, throughput).
• Develop optical component specifications and support procurement and vendor acceptance.
• Support optical alignment, integration, and test, including test planning, and correlate measured performance with model predictions.
• Participate in troubleshooting and root-cause investigations of optical performance anomalies, and recommend design changes.
• Collaborate with systems, mechanical, thermal, stray light, manufacturing, and test engineers to resolve optical interfaces and to ensure designs are producible and testable.
• Communicate technical findings and recommendations through analyses, internal and customer design reviews, and reports.
• Contribute optical analyses to trade studies, technology development efforts, and proposals.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in optical engineering, physics, or related field; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Three or more years of related optical engineering experience, or two or more years with a Master's degree, or one or more years with a Ph.D.
• Experience performing optical design and analysis of optical or electro-optical systems (e.g., optimization, performance modeling, tolerancing) using optical design software.
• Working knowledge of geometrical and physical optics, radiometry, and optical quality metrics (e.g., wavefront error, MTF, encircled energy).
• Experience performing engineering analysis and evaluating model or test data (e.g., using MATLAB, Python, or equivalent tools).
• Experience communicating technical results through written documentation and design review presentations.
• U.S. citizenship and the ability to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI security clearance.

Desired Skills

• Active Top Secret/SCI clearance, or active Top Secret clearance with eligibility for SCI or other required compartmented access.
• Experience using Zemax OpticStudio or CODE V for optical design, optimization, and tolerancing.
• Experience developing optics or optical hardware for space flight.
• Experience applying tolerance, sensitivity, and structural-thermal-optical performance (STOP) analyses to hardware decisions.
• Experience with non-sequential and physical optics modeling (e.g., Zemax OpticStudio, FRED) for stray light, ghost, diffraction, or beam propagation analysis.
• Experience developing optical error budgets, radiometric or sensor performance models, or link budgets.
• Understanding of stray light and ghost mitigation techniques (e.g., baffles, stops, coatings) and experience working with stray light analysts to implement design changes.
• Hands-on optical alignment and test experience (e.g., interferometry, MTF, encircled energy, beam profiling), including troubleshooting measured performance.
• Experience with optical systems in one or more spectral bands from visible through LWIR, including optical material and coating selection.
• Experience writing optical component specifications or statements of work and working with optical vendors.
• Proficient in AI prompting as it applies to this position and practice

Medical, Dental and Vision coverage is available for employees who opt-in.

Our 401(k) plan features generous matching and company contributions.

We support our employees through mentoring, internal & external educational programs, networking, skills enhancement and career-building programs, funding for cyber certifications.

Our generous parental leave policies support your journey into parenthood. When you return to work, our facilities offer mother's rooms to support your transition and work/life balance.

We offer PTO, paid holidays and paid time off for jury duty and military obligations.

Depending on the position, we offer flexible work schedules.