Optical Payload Architect

Aerospacelab; Luik; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

AMOS, part of the Aerospacelab group in Liège, seeks an Optical Payload Architect to define the architecture of Very High Resolution optical payloads for Earth observation satellites. You will be the technical authority on opto-mechanical design, overseeing mounts, materials and thermal aspects within a multidisciplinary payload team.

You translate mission requirements into architecture, balance trade-offs, and defend design choices in front of customers and management.

Qualifications

• Master or PhD in Physics, Aerospace, Optical or Electromechanical Engineering.
• 10+ years in space optical instruments, including the definition phases of at least one instrument.
• Strong opto-mechanical design background: mirror substrates (SiC, Zerodur, ULE), lightweighting, isostatic mounts and flexures, bonding, CFRP or Invar structures.
• You know how a mount, a material or a thermal gradient turns into wavefront error and line-of-sight drift.
• You identify the design driver before the analyses confirm it.
• Experience with Very High Resolution (VHR) Earth observation instruments is a strong asset.
• Familiar with system engineering practices and ECSS standards.
• Good knowledge of Matlab/Python and Zemax/OpticStudio.
• You design what can be built, aligned and tested.
• You explain and defend a technical choice in front of customers and management.
• Rigorous, reliable, good writing skills.
• Curious, team player, a natural technical reference.
• Fluent in English. French is an asset.

Responsibilities

• Define the payload architecture for Very High Resolution optical instruments.
• Act as technical authority on opto-mechanical design and oversee mounts, materials and thermal aspects.
• Lead design trade-offs and formalize concepts in early project phases.
• Translate mission needs into payload requirements and first-order budgets.
• Establish preliminary budgets: MTF, wavefront error, line-of-sight stability, radiometry, straylight.
• Check concept against platform constraints: mass, power, volume, thermal, data rate.
• Act as design authority during development and mentor payload engineers.
• Lead the technical content of proposals and defend architecture against customer needs.

Skills

Opto-mechanical design

Mirror substrates

Lightweighting

Isostatic mounts

Flexures

Thermal design

System engineering

ECSS standards

MATLAB

Python

Education

Master or PhD in Physics, Aerospace, Optical or Electromechanical Engineering

Tools

Zemax/OpticStudio

MATLAB

Python

Job description

About AMOS

Located in Liège,AMOS (Advanced Mechanical & Optical Systems) is a company specialized in the development of ultra-high opto-mechanical systems, mostly dedicated to space industry and professionalastronomy. AMOS is now part of the Aerospacelab group, a Belgian satellite manufacturer. Within the group, AMOS develops Very High Resolution (VHR) optical payloads of Earth observation satellites.

Since 1983, AMOS has been a recognized player around the world. AMOS works with prestigious international clients and partners. More than 100 passionate employees put their expertise at the service of the development of innovative solutions, while respecting the values of the company:

• Team spirit, to unite individual strengths and assets to achieve collective success;


• Excellence, through the commitment and quality of everyone's work;


• Respect, through recognition by listening, openness and consideration, whether colleague,partner, or client.

In order to strengthen its teams, AMOS is looking for an « Optical Payload Architect » (H/F).

Main responsibilities

As an Optical Payload Architect, you define the architecture of our Very High Resolution (VHR) optical payloads. You are the technical authority on their design. Opto-mechanics is the core of the job: mounts,materials, athermalization, dimensional stability. You will be part of the VHR payload team. You will be responsible for :

Defining the payload architecture: telescope configuration, mirror substrates and lightweighting, mounts, metering structure, thermal design, focal plane.

Defining the opto-mechanical design principles: isostatic mounts and flexures, athermalization, dimensional stability under launch, thermal and gravity-release loads, alignment philosophy.

Exploring the design space in phase 0/A/B. Formalizing the trade-offs. Justifying the selected concept.

Translating the mission needs — ground sampling distance, swath, spectral bands, revisit — into payload requirements and first-order budgets.

Establishing the preliminary budgets: MTF, wavefront error, line-of-sight stability, radiometry, straylight. Supported by first-order STOP analyses.

Checking the concept against the platform: mass, power, volume, thermal, pointing, data rate.

Acting as design authority during development. Arbitrating the architectural changes. Supporting the team of payload engineers composed of various engineering disciplines.

Leading the technical content of the proposals. Defending the architecture against customer needs.

Capitalizing the design rules and lessons learned. Mentoring the engineers from the payload team.

Requirements

• Master or PhD in Physics, Aerospace, Optical or Electromechanical Engineering.


• At least 10 years in space optical instruments, including the definition phases of at least one


• instrument.


• Strong opto-mechanical design background: mirror substrates (SiC, Zerodur, ULE), lightweighting, isostatic mounts and flexures, bonding, CFRP or Invar structures.


• You know how a mount, a material or a thermal gradient turns into wavefront error and line-of-sight drift.


• You identify the design driver before the analyses confirm it.


• Experience with Very High Resolution (VHR) Earth observation instruments is a strong asset.


• You are comfortable with incomplete data: orders of magnitude, sensitivity, margins.


• Familiar with system engineering practices and ECSS standards.


• Good knowledge of Matlab/Python and Zemax/OpticStudio.


• You design what can be built, aligned and tested.


• You explain and defend a technical choice in front of customers and management.


• Rigorous, reliable, good writing skills.


• Curious, team player, a natural technical reference.


• Fluent in English. French is an asset.

Soft skills: Autonomous / Rigorous/ Proactive/ Flexible / Result-oriented