Optical Systems Engineer

Morgan McKinley; Paris; Sur place; EUR 90 000 - 130 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

Morgan McKinley is seeking a senior optical engineering professional to take ownership of the optical discipline for high-reliability systems in the Greater Paris Area. You will lead architecture trades, drive designs from concept to hardware, and mentor a technical team on a fast-paced, hardware-driven program.

You will manage optical trades, perform ray-tracing modelling, and coordinate with vendors for OGSE, ensuring robust error budgets and a central baseline for decisions.

Qualifications

• Degree in Optics, Photonics, Physics, or Optical Engineering.
• Experience designing, specifying, aligning, and delivering functional optical hardware.
• Expertise in professional optical design tools (OpticStudio, CodeV, FRED) and analytical scripting.

Responsabilités

• Lead system trades, radiometric budgets across optical, mechanical, thermal, and electrical domains.
• Produce optical prescriptions for manufacture; build ray-tracing models (OpticStudio, CodeV, FRED) and scripts (Python/Mathematica).
• Drive assembly, alignment, and test campaigns; specify custom Optical Ground Support Equipment (OGSE).
• Defend error margins at reviews and manage technical interfaces with optics vendors and coating houses.
• Document methods, maintain configuration control of the optical baseline, and mentor team members.
• Single-Point Ownership: Named accountability for every subsystem and analysis.
• Shared Baseline: Decisions and parameters recorded in a central baseline.
• Hardware-Paced: Milestones set the pace.

Connaissances

Hardware design

Optical engineering

System-level thinking

Documentation & baselining

Formation

Degree in Optics/Photonics/Physics/Optical Engineering

Outils

OpticStudio

CodeV

FRED

Python

Description du poste

Location: Greater Paris Area, France | Freelance/Permanent (CDI), On-site

Languages: English required (French a plus)

About the Company

The company develops communication systems for high reliability sectors like Defence, Aerospace & Space. The senior engineering team operates with direct technical ownership: leads design, decide, and manage their discipline across our product portfolio from concept to flight hardware.

The Role & Impact

Take line ownership of the optical discipline. Optical links replace crowded RF spectrum with secure, high-throughput laser beams for satellite constellations and tactical communications. You inherit a working baseline and drive optical designs from architecture trades to delivered hardware.

What You Will Own

• Architecture & Trades: Lead system trades, radiometric/link budgets, and negotiate constraints across optical, mechanical, thermal, and electrical domains.
• Design & Modelling: Produce optical prescriptions for manufacture; build ray-tracing models (OpticStudio, CodeV, FRED) and analytical scripts (Python/Mathematica).
• Hardware & Metrology: Drive assembly, alignment, and test campaigns; specify custom Optical Ground Support Equipment (OGSE).
• Error Budgets & Supply Chain: Defend error margins at reviews and manage technical interfaces with optics vendors and coating houses.
• Discipline Ownership: Document methods, maintain configuration control of the optical baseline, and mentor team members.
• Single-Point Ownership: Named accountability for every subsystem and analysis.
• Shared Baseline: Decisions and parameters are recorded in a central baseline.
• Hardware-Paced: Technical arguments are direct; milestone dates set the pace.

What You Bring

• Background: Degree in Optics, Photonics, Physics, or Optical Engineering.
• Hardware Track Record: Experience designing, specifying, aligning, and delivering functional optical hardware.
• Software Proficiency: Expertise in professional optical design tools (OpticStudio, CodeV, FRED) and analytical scripting.
• Technical Depth: Stray-light analysis, coating specs, Monte Carlo tolerancing, and bench metrology (interferometry, wavefront sensing).
• System Instincts: Strong grasp of space/defence electro-optics trades and confidence defending error budgets.