Optical Engineer

Arkeus; City of Melbourne; On-site; AUD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Arkeus is seeking an Optical Engineer to design, develop and optimise optical and electro-optical systems for real-time, hardware-based sensing across air, land and sea.

You will collaborate with ML/CV, mechanical and electronics teams to translate concepts into prototypes and field-ready hardware, while maintaining documentation and participating in design reviews.

Qualifications

• Tertiary qualification in optics, photonics or physics.
• 2–4 years of optical design and modelling experience.
• Hands-on proficiency with optical design software (Zemax OpticStudio, Code V, FRED, OSLO).
• Solid understanding of imaging systems and metrics (MTF, aberrations).
• Experience with tolerancing and non-sequential simulation.

Responsibilities

• Design, model and optimise optical and imaging systems for sensing applications.
• Perform optical tolerancing, sensitivity analysis, and performance optimisation (resolution, MTF, aberrations).
• Conduct non-sequential simulations, straylight and ghost analysis to ensure image quality.

Skills

Optical design

Tolerancing

Non-sequential simulation

Prototype and test

Camera imaging

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in optics

Tools

Zemax OpticStudio

Code V

FRED

OSLO

Job description

About the role

As an Optical Engineer at Arkeus, you will design,developand optimise the optical and electro-optical systems at the heart of our image-based sensing technology — working at the intersection of optical science, imaging,hardwareand machine learning. Your work will be central to how our systems detect and classify objectsacross air, land and sea, in real time and on real hardware: from the imaging optics and sensor selection through to the image quality that our computer-vision models depend on.

You will work alongside machine learning, computer vision, mechanical and electronics engineers to take optical systems from concept and modelling through to prototyping,characterisationand deployment on real platforms. As a product company that designs and manufactures in-house, you will see your designs move from the bench through to hardwareoperatingin the field.

About you

• An engineer with a few years of hands-on optical design and modelling experience, ready to take ownership of designs and complex problems.
• A graduate in optics, photonics,physicsor a related discipline, withdemonstratedexperience designing, tolerancing and characterising real optical systems.
• Able to take an optical design from requirements and modelling through to a tolerance-analysed,validatedresult — and comfortable making practical trade-offs under real-world constraints.
• Enjoys reading research,experimentingand asking good questions.
• Wants to see your designsoperatingin the real world, not just in simulation.

Key responsibilities

• Design,modeland optimise optical and imaging systems forsensing applications.
• Perform optical tolerancing, sensitivity analysis, and performance optimisation (resolution, MTF, aberrations).
• Conduct non-sequential simulations, straylightand ghost analysis to ensure image quality.
• Select and specify optics,sensorsand imaging components, and define the imaging chain from scene to sensor.
• Prototype, align and characterise optical systems on the bench and on real hardware.
• Work with mechanical and electronics engineers on optomechanical design and integration.
• Collaborate with the ML/CV teams to ensure image quality supports downstream detection and classification.
• Support the transition of designs into manufacturing;participatein design reviews;maintaindocumentation.

Experience and skills

• Tertiary qualification (Bachelor’s or Master’s) in optics, photonics,physicsor a related discipline.
• 2-4 yearsofdemonstratedoptical design and modelling experience (professional, research, or substantial project work).
• Hands-onproficiencywith optical design software (ZemaxOpticStudio, Code V, FRED,OSLOor similar).
• Solid understanding of geometric and physical optics, imaging systems, and optical performance metrics (resolution, MTF, aberrations).
• Experience with optical tolerancing, non-sequential simulation, and stray light / ghost analysis.
• Experience with practical optical work — prototyping, alignment,integrationand characterisation.
• Sound research and engineering practices.
• Eligibility to obtain andmaintainan Australian Defence security clearance.

_ Desirable: _

• Experience with hyperspectral, EO/IR, or spectrometer-based imaging systems.
• Exposure to aerospace, airborne remote sensing, or space optical instrumentation (e.g. OGSE).
• Experience with cameras, image sensors, and the imaging chain.
• Programming (Python/MATLAB) for optical modelling,analysisor test automation.
• Understanding of how image quality affects downstream computer-vision / ML performance.
• Familiarity with optomechanical design and manufacturing transition.
• Strong physics and mathematics background.

Why Join Arkeus

• You will work on the hardest problems in deep-tech — optics, autonomy, real-timeAIand hardware-software integration ina single product. The gap between what you build and where it ends up is almostnonexistent.

• You will collaborate with exceptional leaders who have 40+ years of combined experience in autonomy,opticsand defence. You will be learning from — and contributing to — the best in the field.

• You will become part of a close-knit, ego-free team where ideas compete on merit, not seniority. Low politics, high trust. The kind of team you will still be talking about in ten years.

• You will work hard and be expected to bring your best — and in return, you will grow faster than you ever would at a large organisation.

• You will work on technology that is already deployed in real environments — protecting lives and strengthening security across defence and national security applications.

• You will receive a competitive, market-benchmarked salary, structured career pathways built to grow with you, and the opportunity toparticipatein our Employee Share Option Plan (ESOP).

• You will have the opportunity to mentor bright emerging talent through our highly sought-after intern program and strong connections with leading universities.