Job Description
Position Description :
- This is an Optical Assembly, Integration, and Test (AI&T) Engineer role for one-of-a-kind complex prototypes for imaging, communication, and/or directed energy applications.
Description:
- Designs, models, analyzes, and tests optical, electro-optical, and opto-mechanical systems and components, including sensors, lasers, fiber-optics, and telecommunications products.
- Conducts research and development into phases of physical optics and geometric optics, lasers, laser characteristics, laser maintenance, and broadband optical sources.
- Applies research of complex optical systems to achieve desired optical outcomes.
- Develops component specifications, tolerances, simulations and tests procedures for electro-optical systems and components.
- Uses design-to-cost models, six sigma methodology, and other methods to assure and verify optical design requirements are met.
Position Description:
- Responsibilities involve: planning and design in preparation for extensive assembly, integration, and test activities in laboratory clean rooms.
- Planning for optical system assembly, integration, and test: develop alignment approach, derive requirements, outline process flow, and develop any GSE needed.
- Working with mechanical and opto-mechanical engineers to create mounts and assemblies with needed degrees of freedom and adjustment resolution.
- Executing assembly and alignment of free-space and fiber-optic optical assemblies, including integration of sensors and performance characterization.
- Specifying custom optical components such as mirrors, lenses, and filters, assessing supplier capabilities, and inspecting/testing procured optics.
- Working with free-space optical tooling such as interferometer, polarimeter, laser beam profiler, alignment telescope, and/or autocollimator.
- Working with fiber optic cables and components, including test methods. Writing AI&T procedures, documenting build activities, and participating in troubleshooting and issue resolution.
- Running environmental test campaigns to characterize assemblies’ performance over operating and survival conditions (e.g, thermal cycling, altitude chamber, vibration, TVac).
Required Skills:
- Three-to-five years’ of optical AI&T experience
- Experience assembling, aligning, and testing refractive and reflective optical components and systems.
- Working familiarity with optical alignment instruments such as interferometers, autocollimators, alignment telescopes, theodolites, profilometers and/or wavefront sensors.
- Broad understanding of optical fabrication techniques and shall be capable of evaluating vendors for custom manufacturing requirements.
- Experience performing incoming inspection on a variety of procured items and therefore needs a working knowledge of optical fabrication specifications.
- Ability to work effectively with small multi-disciplinary teams of engineers and specialists with varying experience levels.
Preferred Skills:
- Familiarity with optical design code (Zemax, CodeV etc) to establish component and alignment tolerances and/or troubleshoot any assembly’s performance issues.
- Preference will be given to candidates who have the above experience with space systems and/or lasercom systems.