Electro-Optics Materials and Device Engineer

Penn State University; State College (Centre County); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Penn State University seeks a Research & Development Engineer for the ARL-EOE division in State College, PA. The role focuses on advanced electro-optical designs, including metasurfaces and photonic structures, within a team of researchers and engineers.

Domestic travel to remote locations is required as part of collaboration and testing. ARL is a DoD SkillBridge partner and welcomes transitioning military members to apply, with leading responsibilities in research and system development across

Qualifications

• Ability to work independently and meet project schedules.
• Experience designing, analyzing, procuring, assembling and testing EO/IR systems for military applications.
• Knowledge of microelectronic systems and detector fabrication processes.
• Familiarity with photonic structures and optical metamaterial designs.

Responsibilities

• Act as part of team leadership and develop executable plans for the team.
• Perform physics-based modeling to predict imaging system performance.
• Drive system-level trade studies and allocate requirements across subsystems.
• Interface with sponsors, end-users, and collaborators to understand problems and communicate results.
• Contribute to the department's strategic research direction by aligning capabilities with sponsor needs.

Skills

Independent work

Team collaboration

EO/IR systems

Microelectronics

Detector fabrication

Optical metamaterials

Security clearance TS/SCI

Job description

POSITION SPECIFICS

Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location. For additional information on remote work at Penn State, see Notice to Out of State Applicants.

Your working location will be fully on-site, located in State College, PA. This position will require periodic travel to remote locations (including the Electro-Optics & Electronics (EOE) Freeport Office near Pittsburgh, PA) in support of collaboration and testing as part of a small team of researchers, engineers, and technologists.

We are searching for a Research & Development Engineer to join our EOE Division at the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at Penn State. EOE develops innovative optical solutions for imaging, high-energy laser (HEL) delivery, and sensing systems, and maintains the design and testing capabilities required to build and fully characterize all aspects of optical performance - from image quality to HEL coating damage testing. This role will lead and conduct basic and applied research of advanced electro-optical designs, including metasurfaces, photonic structures and other emerging material and nano-science applications. You will have the ability to take on challenges where the path the research may take is not clear, and the outcome is not known or guaranteed.

ARL is an authorized DoD SkillBridge partner and welcomes all transitioning military members to apply.

You will:

• Act as part of team leadership that operates in this ambiguous space and develops the executable plan for the rest of the team
• Perform physics-based modeling to predict the performance of imaging system concepts and designs
• Drive system level trade studies to develop architectures and allocate system level requirements across subsystems and engineering disciplines
• Routinely interface with sponsors, customers, end-users, and collaborators to understand their problems, brainstorm solutions, scope research, communicate the technical aspects of research execution, and convey the significance of results
• Provide input to the strategic direction of the department's research pursuits by helping to establish the appropriate core competencies and evaluating where our capabilities best align with a sponsor's needs

Additional responsibilities of the higher-level include:

• Leverage prior first-hand experience with building and testing advanced, state-of-the-art electro-optic systems
• Track the latest developments in electro-optic systems and advise on how and when to integrate them into on-going and future research opportunities.
• Perform project planning, budgeting, and scheduling
• Manage vendors and suppliers, from purchase orders through statements of work
• Lead other engineers in day-to-day tasking to satisfy stakeholder's requirements and expectations
• Independently manage multiple and/or large electro-optic projects
• Develop and propose solutions for new applications
• Perform the role of Trusted Agent to the government to assess and validate state-of-the art electro-optic systems and solutions

Required Skills/Experience areas include:

• Ability to work independently as well as in a team environment and meet project schedule requirements
• Direct experience with the design, analysis, procurement, assembly and testing of components and complete electro-optic and infrared (EO/IR) systems for military applications
• Microelectronic systems and detector fabrication processes
• Success in a multitude of optical and electrical materials and systems
• Success operating as a systems engineer for imaging systems
• Familiarity with photonic structures and other optical metamaterial designs approaches
• Active security clearance, at the secret level, with eligibility for TS/SCI

Preferred Skills/Experience areas include:

• Experience within an organization responsible for manufacturing EO/IR systems
• Direct experience with visible and infrared imaging system design and characterization
• Strong knowledge of electro-optical metamaterial designs approaches
• Radiometry (analysis and laboratory measurements), development of link budgets, prediction of sensor response, and image quality metrics
• Significant experience with electro-optic designs that extend the electro-optic state-of-the-art
• Significant experience bringing together distributed teams to achieve multiplied results
• Active security clearance at the TS/SCI level or higher