Optical Engineer- EO Payloads & Imaging Optics

Star Catcher•Jacksonville, FL

About The Position

Star Catcher Industries, Inc., based in Jacksonville, Florida, is hiring an Optical Engineer to support development of space-to-space power-beaming spacecraft and the Star Catcher Network, an orbital power grid. The role focuses on electro-optical payloads for long-range, space-based tracking and works with the senior EO engineer and systems, electrical, mechanical, and thermal engineering teams. The engineer will design and analyze imaging optics across the full optical stack, including reflective telescopes, relay and reimaging optics, stops, beam splitters, spectral filters, and focal-plane interfaces. The role also covers deriving imaging requirements, evaluating radiometric and imaging performance, controlling stray light, and defining interfaces with pointing, acquisition, and tracking (PAT) systems. The engineer will take designs from concept through specifications, drawings, and bills of materials, and support assembly, alignment, focus, image-quality testing, and radiometric and geometric calibration. Candidates with experience taking payloads through build and test are preferred. Applicants must have a bachelor's degree in a relevant technical discipline and at least three years of hands-on optical design experience on EO or imaging systems. U.S. work authorization and eligibility under applicable U.S. space technology export regulations are required.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Optical Engineering, Optics, Physics, or a related technical discipline.
At least 3 years of hands-on optical design experience on EO or imaging systems.
Expert use of Zemax OpticStudio and/or CODE V for imaging design, including tolerancing and image-quality analysis such as MTF, encircled energy, and distortion.
Deep understanding of reflective telescope forms, relay optics, pupil and stop placement, and tradeoffs between on-axis and unobscured designs.
Radiometry and SNR modeling for point and extended targets, including detector noise sources, background, and integration-time tradeoffs.
Experience integrating optics with detectors and focal-plane arrays, including sampling, focus, and calibration.
Stray-light analysis and control, including baffles, stops, coatings, and surface scatter.
Ability to build imaging error budgets combining optics, detector, and line-of-sight jitter contributions.
Must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain required U.S. Department of State authorizations under applicable export regulations.
Must provide proof of eligibility to work in the United States and satisfy a background check.

Nice To Haves

Substantially more optical design experience, including payloads taken through build and test.
Design of flown EO/IR payloads, star trackers, or space-based tracking sensors.
Experience detecting and tracking resolved or unresolved objects in space.
Experience with FRED, ASAP, or equivalent stray-light analysis tools.
Cryogenic or infrared optical design experience, if mission bands extend beyond visible/NIR.
STOP analysis and athermal design experience.
Master's degree or Ph.D. in Optical Sciences, Optical Engineering, or Physics.

Responsibilities

Design EO payload optics for long-range space-based tracking across the telescope, relay and reimaging optics, stops, beam splitters, spectral filters, and focal-plane interface.
Derive imaging requirements from tracking needs in collaboration with systems engineering, including detection range, signal-to-noise ratio, angular resolution, localization accuracy, field of view, frame rate, and stray-light rejection.
Design reflective imaging telescopes, including Cassegrain, Ritchey-Chrétien, and three-mirror anastigmat forms, along with downstream relay and focal-plane optics.
Build and track imaging performance budgets for wavefront error, modulation transfer function, encircled energy, and radiometric signal-to-noise ratio through testing.
Select and specify detectors and focal-plane arrays with Electrical Engineering, considering pixel pitch, spectral band, quantum efficiency, noise, frame rate, and tracking windowing.
Perform stray-light analysis and design baffles, stops, and sunshades for operation near the Sun, Earth limb, and bright sources.
Define optical interfaces between the imaging payload and PAT, including tracking-sensor paths, shared-aperture and transmit/receive separation, and boresight alignment to the transmit beam.
Perform tolerancing and STOP analysis with mechanical and thermal engineers, including athermalization and 1-g to 0-g focus effects.
Carry designs from concept through specifications, drawings, and BOM.
Support assembly, alignment, focus, image-quality testing, and radiometric and geometric calibration.