Optical Engineer

Lead Optical Engineer – Aerospace & Defense

Location: Rochester, New York

Employment Type: Full-Time

Work Schedule: 9/80 – Every Other Friday Off

Salary: $180,000 – $210,000 per year

Industry: Aerospace / Aviation / Defense

Position Overview

We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Lead Optical Engineer to support the design, analysis, development, integration, and testing of advanced optical and electro-optical (EO/IR) systems for aerospace and defense applications.

The primary focus of this role will be stray light analysis and control, optical system modeling, performance analysis, and non-sequential optical evaluation. The successful candidate will help ensure mission-critical optical systems achieve the required performance in challenging operational environments.

This position will support active and passive imaging payloads, where stray light suppression, radiometric accuracy, optical performance, and system reliability are critical to mission success.

The ideal candidate will have a strong background in optical engineering and complex imaging/sensing systems, with experience spanning optical design, analysis, integration, testing, verification, and system sell-off.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design, analysis, and development of optical and electro-optical systems for aerospace and defense applications.
• Perform detailed stray light analysis to identify potential sources and assess their impact on optical system performance.
• Develop and evaluate stray light mitigation and control strategies.
• Perform optical system modeling, simulation, performance analysis, and non-sequential optical evaluations.
• Analyze optical performance under challenging environmental and operational conditions.
• Support the development and verification of active and passive imaging payloads.
• Evaluate optical performance, radiometric accuracy, image quality, and system-level requirements.
• Support optical system design, manufacturing, integration, testing, verification, and final sell-off.
• Apply optical engineering principles to complex EO/IR space-based payloads and vehicle systems.
• Use optical design and analysis tools to model and optimize system performance.
• Work closely with multidisciplinary engineering teams, including mechanical, electrical, systems, manufacturing, and test engineers.
• Develop technical documentation, analysis reports, test procedures, and verification documentation.
• Troubleshoot optical system performance issues and recommend corrective actions.
• Support laboratory testing and optical characterization using specialized optical metrology equipment.
• Contribute to technical reviews, design assessments, and system-level engineering decisions.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Optical Engineering, Physics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• 7 years of relevant professional experience in optical engineering or a closely related field.
• 2 years of hands-on experience with optical stray light analysis tools, preferably FRED.
• Strong experience with optical system modeling, analysis, and performance evaluation.
• Ability to obtain a U.S. federal security clearance.
• Hands-on experience with optical metrology equipment, including:
• Interferometers
• Autocollimators
• Laser trackers
• Experience with phase retrieval techniques.
• Experience with the design, manufacturing, integration, testing, and sell-off of space-based EO/IR subsystems.
• Experience with optical design software such as:
• Code V
• Zemax OpticStudio
• Strong optical engineering experience with EO/IR space-based payloads and vehicle systems.
• Programming experience with MATLAB and/or Python.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working on space-based optical or electro-optical systems.
• Experience with non-sequential optical modeling and stray light control.
• Experience with radiometric analysis and imaging system performance.
• Experience working within aerospace, defense, or government programs.
• Strong understanding of optical system verification and validation.
• Experience working with multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, communication, and technical leadership skills.

Key Technical Skills

• Optical Engineering
• Stray Light Analysis
• FRED
• EO/IR Systems
• Space-Based Payloads
• Optical System Modeling
• Non-Sequential Ray Tracing
• Optical Metrology
• Interferometry
• Autocollimators
• Laser Trackers
• Phase Retrieval
• Code V
• Zemax OpticStudio
• MATLAB
• Python
• Optical Integration & Testing
• System Verification & Sell-Off

Compensation & Schedule

Base Salary: $180,000 – $210,000 annually

Schedule: 9/80 work schedule, with every other Friday off.

Security Requirement

This position requires the ability to obtain a U.S. federal security clearance. Final clearance eligibility will be determined according to applicable government requirements.