Lead Optical Engineer

Veracity Ventures Inc.•City of Rochester, NY

60d•$150,000 - $190,000•Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking a highly motivated Lead Optical Engineer to support the design, analysis, and development of advanced optical and electro-optical systems for aerospace and defense applications. This role is centered on stray light analysis and control methods, with primary responsibilities in optical system modeling, performance analysis, and non-sequential evaluation to ensure mission-critical system performance in challenging operational environments. The ideal candidate has a strong background in optical system engineering and experience with complex imaging or sensing systems across design, test, and verification.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree 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.
2-3 years of relevant experience in optical stray light analysis tools such as FRED
Ability to obtain a federal security clearance

Nice To Haves

Holds an active Secret or Top Secret/SCI clearance.
Relevant experience with the design, manufacture, integration, test and sell-off of space-based EO/IR subsystems.
Hands-on experience with optical metrology equipment (interferometers, autocollimators, laser trackers) and phase retrieval techniques.
Familiarity with specialized metrology software, including Zygo Mx and QED.NET.
Experience with the design, manufacture, integration, test, and sell-off of space-based EO/IR subsystems.
Experience with Optical Design software such as CodeV, Zemax OpticStudio
Ability to collaborate across all levels of leadership.
Strong communication and interpersonal skills – taking complex concepts and sharing with others.
Experience with estimating and managing costs & creating and managing schedule
Candidate with an active Top Secret/SCI clearance is highly desirable.
Optical Engineering experience with EO/IR space-based payloads, vehicle systems, and/or high performance imaging systems.
Experience with programming languages such as Matlab and Python
Working knowledge of optical scatter mechanisms, BSDF/BRDF concepts, ghost path analysis, and the interaction between optical design choices and system-level performance.

Responsibilities

Lead or support optical engineering activities for advanced imaging, sensing, and electro-optical systems.
Lead development of non-sequential stray light and radiometric models for active and passive imaging systems, including assessment of scattering, ghosting, and optical throughput for space-based payloads.
Support system performance analysis and verification of key optical requirements such as wavefront error, line of sight, distortion, focus, focal length, image quality, and related optical performance metrics.
Perform end-to-end optical performance analyses that connect design features to mission-level image quality, signal-to-noise, and sensitivity outcomes, and communicate resulting risks, margins, and mitigation recommendations to program teams.
Contribute to assessment of optical system behavior including ghosting, scattering, and stray light performance, as needed for system design and verification efforts.
Support design trades for baffles, stops, surface treatments, contamination control, and alignment strategies to reduce stray light and preserve radiometric and optical performance through integration, test, and environmental exposure.
Generate and review technical documentation including test plans, procedures, error budgets, requirements verification artifacts, design review materials, and final reports.
Collaborate with cross-functional engineering teams to ensure optical designs are manufacturable, testable, and fully integrated into the broader system architecture.
Provide technical leadership in troubleshooting, root cause analysis, and resolution of optical performance issues during development and test.