Staff Optical Engineer, AI&T

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 The Anduril Imaging team develops state-of-the-art imaging systems across both hardware and software, deployed to tackle the most significant security challenges of America and its allies. The team is heavily involved in utilizing computer vision, perception, electro-optical, infrared, and sensor data to give our war fighters and allies an advantage. ABOUT THE JOB The Imaging team is seeking an Optical Engineer to focus on assembly, integration, and testing in support of a new product lines. In this role, you will work closely with an interdisciplinary technical team to own procurement, optical assembly, integration, and test activities as we mature prototypes into products. Successful candidates will have experience building, validating, and delivering environmentally rugged optical systems in both prototype and production environments. WHAT YOU’LL DO Lead the assembly, integration and test for novel optical systems Work with optical suppliers to procure optical elements, including regular status updates, technical oversight, acceptance test verification, and anomaly resolutions. Generate alignment plans and procedures Align optical systems with equipment including autocollimators, theodolites, alignment telescopes, interferometers, lens alignment stations, and various other mechanical methods Manage integration and test vendors to successfully scale production of complex infrared assemblies. 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 Interface with test and evaluation teams to qualify optical performance through lab, field, and airborne testing. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS BS in Engineering or Physics/Astronomy required with a concentration in Optics 5+ years of experience with complex opto-mechanical systems, performing optical assembly, integration, and testing in the workforce Knowledge of how electro-optical systems are specified, developed, manufactured, and tested Experience with optical tolerancing, lens manufacturing methods, and drawing standards Knowledge and experience laboratory testing including optical component testing experience (spectral transmission, interferometry, etc.), optical system alignment, and testing (EE, MTF, PSF, etc.) Demonstrated experience in the integration, test, and performance requirements verification and validation of optical systems Experience in prototype and production development, including requirements validation Experience with optical design and analysis software (Zemax or CODE V) Data analysis proficiency in Matlab, Python, or similiar Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS MS or PhD in Optics Demonstrated first principles approach to complex opto-mechanical problems Knowledge of image quality metrics and data analysis methods Experience with the test and evaluation of optical systems through thermally and vibrationally dynamic environments. Demonstrated team leadership experience and mentoring of junior staff Knowledge of common materials used in infrared optical systems and limitations of fabrication methods of optics (molded, po