Senior Advisor, System Engineering

POSITION SUMMARY:

Jenoptik Optical Systems is seeking an experienced Systems Engineer to provide technical leadership in the development of complex optical systems, precision optical assemblies, and high-performance objective lens systems serving the semiconductor, medical, and defense markets.
The Systems Engineer serves as the technical authority for the overall system, responsible for translating customer requirements into well-defined system architectures, leading technical trade studies, managing system-level requirements and interfaces, and ensuring the integrated solution achieves its intended functional and performance objectives.
This position requires a strong multidisciplinary engineering background, with the ability to understand, evaluate, and integrate optical, mechanical, thermal, electrical, and software considerations into cohesive system solutions.
Working closely with optical design, mechanical engineering, metrology, manufacturing, quality, and project management teams, the Systems Engineer provides technical leadership throughout the product development lifecycle—from initial concept and requirements definition through detailed design, integration, verification, and qualification.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Requirements Engineering & Management
• Lead the development, decomposition, and end-to-end traceability of system-level technical requirements derived from customer specifications.
• Identify and resolve conflicting, ambiguous, or technically challenging requirements with internal stakeholders and customers.
• Define verifiable acceptance criteria and evaluate the technical impact of any proposed requirement changes on system performance.

2. System Architecture & Technical Trade Studies
• Define system-level functional architectures, performance budgets, and subsystem boundaries across optical, thermal, and structural domains.
• Lead multidisciplinary trade studies to evaluate alternative design approaches based on performance, technical risk, manufacturability, cost, and lifecycle.
• Balance customer performance objectives against practical manufacturing, assembly, integration, and testing constraints.

3. Technical Leadership & Design Authority
• Maintain primary technical ownership of the integrated system design throughout the entire product development lifecycle.
• Lead or provide technical authority for key design reviews to ensure consistency across architecture and subsystem designs.
• Serve as the key technical interface with customers, partners, and internal multidisciplinary teams to resolve complex engineering challenges.

4. Technical Risk Assessment & Mitigation
• Proactively identify and assess system-level technical risks covering performance, design maturity, and integration.
• Evaluate potential failure mechanisms, design sensitivities, and subsystem interactions through DFMEA and related methodologies.
• Develop and execute risk mitigation strategies, including modeling, analysis, prototyping, and design alternatives.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES (continued)

5. System Integration, Verification & Qualification
• Develop and maintain system-level verification strategies, matrices, and test methods (analysis, inspection, demonstration, testing).
• Coordinate integration activities across optical, mechanical, electronics, and software engineering disciplines.
• Lead technical root-cause investigations when integrated performance fails to meet requirements and support final system acceptance.

6. Technical Interfaces & Configuration Management
• Define, document, and manage technical interfaces and subsystem interactions between all system elements.
• Lead impact assessments associated with engineering changes, component substitutions, and design modifications.
• Maintain strict alignment between approved requirements, architecture definitions, and the evolving technical baseline.

7. Cross-Functional Collaboration & Program Support
• Partner with Project Management to establish technically sound development plans, engineering milestones, and work packages.
• Collaborate with manufacturing, assembly, and quality teams to ensure new designs are robust, repeatable, and production ready.
• Communicate technical progress, design decisions, and key risks clearly to project teams, customers, and leadership.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master’s degree in Optical Engineering, Physics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a closely related technical discipline.
• Typically 7+ years of engineering experience involving complex multidisciplinary systems, preferably including optical or optomechanical products.
• Demonstrated experience in requirements engineering, system architecture development, technical trade studies, and system-level integration.
• Strong understanding of structured product development and systems engineering principles throughout the engineering lifecycle.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary technical teams and resolving complex engineering challenges.
• Working knowledge of optical system performance, precision mechanics, thermal effects, alignment considerations, and optomechanical integration.
• Experience developing verification strategies, managing technical risks, and supporting formal engineering design reviews.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, technical documentation, and communication skills.
• Ability to serve as a credible technical interface with customers and internal engineering stakeholders.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Ph.D. in Optical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Physics, or a related technical field.
• Experience developing high-performance optical objective lens assemblies, precision imaging systems, or complex optical instruments.
• Experience in semiconductor equipment, medical imaging and diagnostics, aerospace, or defense applications.
• Familiarity with systems engineering standards and methodologies such as Waterfall, V-model, etc.
• Working familiarity with optical engineering tools such as Zemax OpticStudio, CODE V, and/or FRED, and mechanical design and analysis environments such as CREO and ANSYS.
• Experience with precision optical alignment, optical performance metrology, environmental qualification, and system acceptance testing.
• Familiarity with system performance budgeting, tolerance analysis, reliability engineering, and structured risk assessment methodologies.

GENERAL AND PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Occasional travel (up to 15%)
• In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity & eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.
• The physical requirements described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions:
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use of hands or fingers to handle, or feel objects, tools or controls and keyboarding; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl; talk and hear.
The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.