Senior Optical Engineer

Anduril Industries is a defense technology company with a mission to transform U.S. and allied military capabilities with advanced technology. By bringing the expertise, technology, and business model of the 21st century’s most innovative companies to the defense industry, Anduril is changing how military systems are designed, built and sold. Anduril’s family of systems is powered by Lattice OS, an AI-powered operating system that turns thousands of data streams into a realtime, 3D command and control center. As the world enters an era of strategic competition, Anduril is committed to bringing cutting-edge autonomy, AI, computer vision, sensor fusion, and networking technology to the military in months, not years.

ABOUT THE TEAM

Anduril Imaging designs and builds state-of-the-art imaging systems, deployed to tackle the most significant security challenges of America and its allies.

ABOUT THE JOB

The Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance mission team is seeking an Optical Engineer to design a new infrared imaging product lines primarily for airborne applications. In this role, you will work closely with an interdisciplinary technical team to define optical architectures, complete the optical design and analysis, build prototypes leading to ground and flight testing, and mature the prototypes into products. Successful candidates will have experience designing and delivering environmentally rugged optical systems.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Lead architecture decisions, optical trades for novel optical systems for broadly defined missions
• Understand and define optical performance requirements given multi-disciplinary engineering constraints
• Design and tolerance complex visible to infrared optical systems to meet performance requirements for ground & airborne applications
• Design refractive and reflective high performance imaging systems
• Develop and review test setups, procedures, and data to transition products and systems from R&D to production
• Evaluate and analyze prototype and production optical system performance errors to determine root cause

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• BS in Engineering required with a concentration in Optics
• MS or PhD preferred, but not required
• 5+ years of relevant experience in design and analysis of with complex optical systems, performing optical system design, analysis, alignment and test in industry or an applicable academic environment.
• Expertise with optical design and analysis software (Zemax or CODE V)
• Experience with STOP (Structural, Thermal, and Optical Performance) analysis
• Knowledge of image quality metrics and data analysis methods
• Experience with the design of diffraction limited imaging systems in dynamic environments
• Experience with design and analysis of cooled infrared optical systems.
• Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Demonstrated first principles approach to complex opto-mechanical problems
• Optical component testing experience (spectral transmission, interferometry, etc.), optical system alignment and testing (EE, MTF, PSF, etc.), and opto-electrical system modeling
• Demonstrated experience in the integration, test, and performance requirements verification and validation of optical systems
• Experience with radiometry and stray light analysis
• Demonstrated team leadership experience and mentoring of junior staff
• Knowledge of common materials used in optical systems and limitations of fabrication methods of optics (molded, polished, diamond turned) as well as micro structures

US Salary Range$130,900—$196,350 USD

 

The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary offer may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations. Highly competitive equity grants are included in the majority of full time offers; and are considered part of Anduril's total compensation package. Additionally, Anduril offers top-tier benefits for full-time employees, including:

• Platinum Healthcare Benefits: For U.S. roles, we offer comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans at little to no cost to you.
  • For UK roles, Private Medical Insurance (PMI): Anduril will cover the full cost of the insurance premium for an employee and dependents.
  • For AUS roles, Private health plan through Bupa: Coverage is fully subsidized by Anduril.
• Basic Life/AD&D and long-term disability insurance 100% covered by Anduril, plus the option to purchase additional l