Optical Engineer
Our client is a technology-driven company specialized in the development of advanced optical instrumentation for high-demand applications. The organization designs and delivers high-performance imaging and sensing systems, combining precision optics, optomechanics, and advanced sensor technologies across multiple spectral ranges.
Operating at the intersection of optical engineering, systems integration, and product qualification, the company develops compact, robust, and high-reliability instruments designed to perform under challenging environmental and operational conditions in sectors such as aerospace, defense, Earth observation, and other advanced industrial domains.
Mission
The mission of this role is to design, analyze, and validate high-performance optical systems, ensuring full compliance with demanding technical requirements and long-term operational reliability.
You will play a key role in defining optical architectures, optimizing performance, and ensuring that each system achieves the required image quality, robustness, and environmental resilience. Your contribution will directly impact the technical excellence and reliability of advanced optical instruments deployed in critical applications.
Responsibilities
Optical Design and Trade-Off Analysis
- Design optical systems based on instrument-level requirements, balancing performance, manufacturability, alignment tolerances, and robustness.
- Evaluate alternative optical configurations and conduct structured trade-off analyses to select optimal architectures.
- Define optical performance budgets and margins aligned with system-level constraints.
Simulation and Performance Analysis
- Perform detailed optical simulations and analyses, including image quality assessment (MTF, PSF, WFE), stray light analysis, and STOP (Structural-Thermal-Optical Performance) analyses.
- Assess tolerance sensitivity and environmental influences on optical performance.
- Support performance verification through analytical modeling and numerical simulations.
Integration, Verification, and Testing (AIV)
- Design and implement AIV setups and procedures for optomechanical systems.
- Define alignment strategies, metrology approaches, and optical test configurations.
- Support system-level validation and performance verification campaigns.
Technical Documentation and Interface
- Produce rigorous technical documentation, including calculations, analysis reports, verification plans, test procedures, and technical presentations.
- Act as a technical interface with customers and suppliers, contributing to design reviews and technical discussions in multidisciplinary and international environments.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Optics, Physics, or Engineering with specialization in optics.
- Minimum 3 years of experience in optical system design within high-performance or technically demanding environments.
- Proven experience performing optical simulations and image quality analyses (MTF, PSF, WFE).
- Experience conducting stray light and STOP analyses.
- Hands-on experience defining or supporting AIV activities for optomechanical systems.
- Strong analytical mindset with demonstrated ability to produce structured and rigorous technical documentation.
- Professional working proficiency in English.
Preferred Experience
- Experience in the design of optical systems for aerospace, defense, or other high-reliability applications.
- Background working with optical sensors in VIS, SWIR, and/or thermal spectral ranges.
- Experience collaborating with multidisciplinary teams including mechanical, thermal, electronics, and systems engineering.
- Master’s degree or PhD in Optical Engineering or a closely related field.