Senior Optical Engineer

Muon Space•Mountain View, CA

2d•$166,000 - $223,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Muon seeks a Senior Optical Engineer to join our team developing infrared remote sensing instruments. You will own stray light control and analysis by defining precise requirements for optical components and surface treatments, and optimizing optical transmission via custom coatings and filter components. Because this role spans a unique intersection of specialties—rigorous stray light analysis, custom coating specification, and spectral filter development—we welcome candidates who bring deep expertise in a subset of these areas and possess the strong foundational engineering skills and appetite to grow into the others. In this role, you will drive both the analytical modeling of stray light and the hands-on R&D efforts to specify, procure, and validate complex thin-film coatings and optical filters. Previous experience in non-sequential ray tracing, thin-film design, or vendor technical management in a fast-paced environment is required. This position is hybrid and requires working on-site in our Mountain View, CA office three days per week.

Requirements

B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in an engineering or physics field, or equivalent experience.
5+ years of experience developing optical systems, specifically focused on stray light analysis, optical coatings, and component procurement.
Expertise in non-sequential ray tracing and stray light analysis software (e.g., FRED, LightTools).
Experience with thin-film coating design and analysis software (e.g., TFCalc, Essential Macleod, OptiLayer).
Proven track record of defining rigorous technical specifications for optical components and actively managing external vendors from concept through hardware delivery.
Hands-on experience with metrology equipment used to characterize optical coatings, filters, and scatter (e.g., spectrophotometers, scatterometers, ellipsometers, interferometers).
Software proficiency in one or more languages (e.g., Python, MATLAB) for data analysis, automation, and processing vendor test data.
Ability to obtain security clearance strongly preferred.

Nice To Haves

Experience working in cleanroom environments and handling sensitive optical components.
Deep understanding of infrared materials and the impacts of cryogenic temperatures on optical coatings and filter center-wavelength shifts.
Exposure to systems engineering, specifically requirements development and radiometric error budgeting.

Responsibilities

Perform comprehensive stray light analysis using FRED to quantify and mitigate out-of-field stray light, scatter, ghosting, and thermal self-emission across complex infrared optical assemblies.
Specify and analyze custom optical coatings and surface treatments to maximize transmission/reflectance and manage environmental durability for our multispectral IR instruments.
Serve as the primary technical liaison with specialized optical component vendors.
Drive R&D initiatives to advance internal capabilities in novel coating technologies, filter survivability in harsh environments (e.g., TVAC, radiation), and advanced optical materials.
Define test plans using metrology setups (e.g., spectrophotometry, scatterometry/BRDF measurements) to verify vendor deliverables and characterize component-level spectral and scatter performance.
Partner with optical and mechanical designers to iterate and optimize baffle designs, surface finishes, and optomechanical layouts based on rigorous stray light analysis.