Lead, Optical Engineering

Lead, Optical Engineering

The Fort Wayne, IN engineering team is seeking an Optical Design Engineer to join our team onsite, providing critical support for our aerospace programs. This role involves development of optical systems; specifying, selecting and qualifying active and passive optical components, developing and benchmarking system performance models, developing and implementing test procedures and/or evaluating and selecting appropriate test instrumentation. Our projects span imaging systems across the UV to LWIR regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

The successful candidate will be deeply involved in the practical aspects of optical engineering, ensuring the integrity and performance of our sophisticated optical systems.

Essential Functions:

• Perform optical design and analysis on advanced telescopes, calibrators, and unique optical test sets.
• Develop optical budgets and sensitivities including wavefront error, MTF, line of sight, and throughput.
• Perform analyses to show compliance with optical requirements and specifications for imaging systems, assemblies, component drawings, coatings, manufacturability, etc.
• Provide optical modeling, analysis, image simulations, and metrology support during system alignment, integration and testing.
• Support the development of optical technologies and architectural concepts to support the company's current and new business opportunities.
• Collaborate with cross-disciplinary teams to achieve project objectives, demonstrating strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work well in a team setting.
• Utilize strong organizational skills to manage tasks and documentation effectively.
• Apply excellent written and verbal communication skills to document processes, convey technical information, and facilitate effective teamwork.
• Engage in troubleshooting activities and verification of system requirements to ensure compliance and functionality.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in engineering 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.
• Experience in using Zemax and/or Code V optical software for advanced design and analysis purposes.
• Experience with FRED or similar stray light analysis software for evaluating and mitigating optical system interference.

Preferred Additional

Skills:

• Experience with MATLAB for data analysis and automation of testing procedures.
• Familiarity with evaluating and selecting vendors to supply critical components for advanced systems.
• Familiarity interfacing generative AI with traditional optical modeling tools
• Active DoD Secret Security Clearance.