Lead Optical Engineer

Benefits:

401(k)

Health insurance

Relocation bonus

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.