Lead Optical Engineer
Rochester, New York
Full Time
Summary:
We are seeking a highly motivated Lead Optical Engineer to support the design, analysis, and development of advanced optical and electro-optical systems for aerospace and defense applications. This role is centered on stray light analysis and control methods, with primary responsibilities in optical system modeling, performance analysis, and non-sequential evaluation to ensure mission-critical system performance in challenging operational environments. The ideal candidate has a strong background in optical system engineering and experience with complex imaging or sensing systems across design, test, and verification.
Essential Functions:
- Lead or support optical engineering activities for advanced imaging, sensing, and electro-optical systems.
- Lead development of non-sequential stray light and radiometric models for active and passive imaging systems, including assessment of scattering, ghosting, and optical throughput for space-based payloads.
- Support system performance analysis and verification of key optical requirements such as wavefront error, line of sight, distortion, focus, focal length, image quality, and related optical performance metrics.
- Perform end-to-end optical performance analyses that connect design features to mission-level image quality, signal-to-noise, and sensitivity outcomes, and communicate resulting risks, margins, and mitigation recommendations to program teams.
- Contribute to assessment of optical system behavior including ghosting, scattering, and stray light performance, as needed for system design and verification efforts.
- Support design trades for baffles, stops, surface treatments, contamination control, and alignment strategies to reduce stray light and preserve radiometric and optical performance through integration, test, and environmental exposure.
- Generate and review technical documentation including test plans, procedures, error budgets, requirements verification artifacts, design review materials, and final reports.
- Collaborate with cross-functional engineering teams to ensure optical designs are manufacturable, testable, and fully integrated into the broader system architecture.
- Provide technical leadership in troubleshooting, root cause analysis, and resolution of optical performance issues during development and test.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s Degree and minimum 9 years of prior relevant experience. Graduate Degree and a minimum of 7 years of prior related experience.
- In lieu of a degree, minimum of 13 years of prior related experience.
2-3 years of relevant experience in optical stray light analysis tools such as FRED
- Ability to obtain a federal security clearance
Preferred Additional Skills:
- Holds an active Secret or Top Secret/SCI clearance.
- Relevant experience with the design, manufacture, integration, test and sell-off of space-based EO/IR subsystems.
- Hands-on experience with optical metrology equipment (interferometers, autocollimators, laser trackers) and phase retrieval techniques.
- Familiarity with specialized metrology software, including Zygo Mx and QED.NET.
- Experience with the design, manufacture, integration, test, and sell-off of space-based EO/IR subsystems.
- Experience with Optical Design software such as CodeV, Zemax OpticStudio
- Ability to collaborate across all levels of leadership.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills – taking complex concepts and sharing with others.
- Experience with estimating and managing costs & creating and managing schedule
- Candidate with an active Top Secret/SCI clearance is highly desirable.
- Optical Engineering experience with EO/IR space-based payloads, vehicle systems, and/or high performance imaging systems.
- Experience with programming languages such as Matlab and Python
- Working knowledge of optical scatter mechanisms, BSDF/BRDF concepts, ghost path analysis, and the interaction between optical design choices and system-level performance.