Senior Optical Engineer

Job Summary

The Senior Optical Engineer at Daylight will be part of an engineering team developing novel laser components and systems and transition them into products. Incumbent may act as a technical lead, while at the same time contributing to the analysis, modeling, design, prototyping and testing of laser components and systems. As individual contributor, this person will be responsible for requirement flow-down, electro-optical design, interface with critical component suppliers, planning and execution of integration and test. Additionally, this person will be solving complex problems requiring deep understanding of material science and laser technology and excellent problem-solving skills across the company and contribute to IP, publications and business development.
 

Job Responsibilities

• Optical design and tolerance analysis using Zemax and Matlab
• Design, build and align optical bench setups for prototype and production design verification testing.  Develop alignment procedures.
• Individually responsible for major portions of complex development projects 
• Serve as the laser and optical lead for the laser systems and sub-systems ranging from early concepts to product prototypes to initial production units with emphasis on optical and opto-mechanical aspects
• Responsible for evaluation of failure modes, conducting root cause analysis and implementation of corrective actions for the company products with emphasis on optical and opto-mechanical aspects
• Interact effectively and efficiently as part of a multi-member, multi-function team, as well as with customers and suppliers, write reports and contribute peer reviewed publications and invention disclosures
• Communicate clearly (written and oral) with manufacturing, supply chain, program management and the customer as required
• Support, communicate, reinforce and defend the mission, values and culture of the organization
• Attend appropriate engineering, customer or business meetings

The ideal candidate will have:

• Expert level knowledge of Zemax OpticStudio.  Working knowledge of both sequential and non-sequential simulations and scripting and/or interfacing with Matlab for design automation.  Laser optical system design experience preferred
• Proficient at aligning and integrating complex optical table setups
• Understanding of mechanical, thermal, electrical, and optical designs and components, and their interactions in a system to meet performance requirements
• Programming skills: Matlab, Labview, Python or C++
• Experience using Solidworks.
• Hands-on experience in the development, prototyping, testing or transfer to production of complex EO/Mechanical systems
• Appreciation and practice for engineering process rigor appropriately applied based on product/process maturity
• Knowledge of semiconductor laser technology, laser and optical design and modeling, optical components and materials from UV to IR, optical metrology and measurement equipment. 
• Experience with multimode, single mode and polarization maintaining fiber
• Laser packaging experience
• Solidworks to create opto-mechanical designs and test setups
• Knowledge of electronic test equipment for time-domain and frequency-domain measurements, control theory, and signal processing

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering (Masters Preferred) or related technical field with a minimum of 5 years of experience (optical/laser related industry is preferred)
• Fluency in technologies and application domain
• Ability to lead a technical group independently

U.S. Citizenship required. This position requires an active DOD Secret-level security clearance or the ability to obtain such clearance within a reasonable time after commencement of employment.

The expected pay scale for this position is $113,385/year - $176,030/year. Should the level, location, or scope of the position change during the hiring process, the pay scale may be modified accordingly. When extending an offer of employment, DRS Daylight Solutions considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position; any Federal Government contract labor categories and contract wage rates, the candidate’s relevant work experience, education/training, certifications, and key skills; internal equity; and market and business considerations.