Principal EO Signal Image Processing Engineer - 3

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE:
Relocation assistance may be available
CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START:
Yes
CLEARANCE TYPE:
Secret
TRAVEL:
Yes, 10% of the Time
Description
At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon.

We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work — and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they re making history.
Northrop Grumman Space Systems is looking for a Principal Optical Engineer to support the Electro‑Optics Group within the Launch Vehicles business unit in Chandler, Arizona.
You will work as part of a multi‑disciplinary seeker engineering team responsible for optical design, analysis, integration, and test of development and flight hardware. The role is centered on optical engineering for imaging and sensing systems (visible through LWIR), with an emphasis on how opto‑mechanical design and environments drive optical performance.
Responsibilities

• Contribute to the design and analysis of optical systems for imaging and sensing applications (e.g., refractive/reflective optics, relay optics, athermalized systems, objective lenses).
• Perform optical performance analyses (e.g., wavefront error, MTF, line‑of‑sight (LOS) stability, boresight, sensitivity, and tolerancing) across expected environmental and operational conditions.
• Develop and maintain optical error budgets, including contributions from alignment, manufacturing tolerances, thermal and structural effects, and line‑of‑sight stability.
• Perform Structurally Induced Line of Sight (SILOS) analysis in collaboration with structural and thermal analysts to ensure optical performance is maintained through the full mission profile.
• Define optical requirements and allocate tolerances at the system, subsystem, and component levels; flow requirements to optomechanical design and manufacturing.
• Collaborate closely with opto‑mechanical, systems, electrical, and manufacturing engineers to ensure that optical designs are realizable, producible, and testable.
• Guide and review the development of optomechanical designs (mounts, cells, structures) that support optical alignment, stability, and environmental robustness.
• Develop and review parametric 3D CAD models, detailed drawings, and associated documentation that fully capture opto‑mechanical requirements and constraints.
• Support and sometimes lead laboratory and environmental test activities, including optical alignment, calibration, performance verification, and correlation of analysis to test (vibration, thermal, shock, etc.).
• Participate in design reviews (internal and customer), presenting optical design concepts, analyses, error budgets, and test results to stakeholders.
• Assist with troubleshooting, root‑cause analysis, and design updates for prototype and production hardware when optical performance issues are identified.

• Bachelor’s degree in Optical Engineering, Physics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related discipline from an accredited university and 5 years of relevant experience; or a Master’s degree and 3 years of experience; or a PhD and 1 year of experience.
• Active U.S. Government - Secret security clearance at time of application.
• Demonstrated experience with optical systems used in imaging, sensing, or seeker applications (may include internships, projects, or early‑career roles).
• Experience with optical performance analysis and an understanding of how structural and thermal environments affect imaging quality and line of sight (e.g., STOP/SILOS concepts).
• Proficiency with optical modeling tools (e.g., ZEMAX, Code V, FRED, or…