Optical Design Engineer

Mantis Space; Albuquerque (NM); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Mantis Space in Albuquerque, NM is seeking a senior optical systems engineer to develop and verify architectures for space-based power beaming and advanced optical applications.

You will build and validate models using Zemax OpticStudio, Code V, and other tools; conduct tolerancing, error budgeting, and alignment analysis; collaborate with mechanical and thermal teams to predict performance across environments.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Optical Engineering, Physics, or related field.
• 8+ years of professional experience in optical design or precision optical systems.
• 12+ years of experience preferred for Principal-level candidates.
• Demonstrated experience designing and analyzing complex optical systems using Zemax OpticStudio, Code V, FRED, ASAP or equivalent.
• Strong understanding of optical tolerancing, sensitivity analysis, alignment planning, and optical error budgeting.
• Ability to translate system-level requirements into measurable optical performance requirements and verification methods.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to explain complex optical concepts to engineers from other disciplines.

Responsibilities

• Develop, analyze, and document optical architectures and detailed designs supporting space-based power beaming and other advanced optical applications.
• Build, maintain, and validate optical models using Zemax OpticStudio, Code V, FRED, ASAP, or equivalent.
• Perform optical architecture trades involving aperture, beam quality, efficiency, packaging, manufacturability, alignment sensitivity, thermal stability, and system-level performance.
• Develop and maintain optical performance budgets, including wavefront error, beam quality, transmission, pointing sensitivity, diffraction, scattering, and other mission-relevant performance metrics.
• Perform optical tolerancing, sensitivity analysis, alignment analysis, and optical error budgeting for components, assemblies, and system-level interfaces.
• Translate mission and system requirements into optical requirements, budgets, assumptions, interfaces, and verification approaches.
• Support optomechanical design maturation by defining optical surface specifications, coatings, materials, alignment datums, interfaces, inspection criteria, and optical performance requirements.
• Collaborate with mechanical engineers on optical mounts, interfaces, precision assemblies, mechanisms, and released engineering drawings.
• Perform or support STOP, thermo-optical, structural-optical, stray light, scattering, and ghost analyses.
• Evaluate thermal gradients, structural deformation, contamination, vibration, alignment errors, and other environmental conditions on optical performance.

Education

Master's degree in Optical Engineering or related field

8+ years in optical design or systems engineering

12+ years for Principal level

Strong written and verbal communication

Ability to translate requirements into specs

Tools

Zemax OpticStudio

Code V

FRED

ASAP

Job description

What You\'ll Do

• Develop, analyze, and document optical architectures and detailed designs supporting space-based power beaming and other advanced optical applications.
• Build, maintain, and validate optical models using tools such as Zemax OpticStudio, Code V, FRED, ASAP, or equivalent.
• Perform optical architecture trades involving aperture, beam quality, efficiency, packaging, manufacturability, alignment sensitivity, thermal stability, and system-level performance.
• Develop and maintain optical performance budgets, including wavefront error, beam quality, transmission, pointing sensitivity, diffraction, scattering, and other mission-relevant performance metrics.
• Perform optical tolerancing, sensitivity analysis, alignment analysis, and optical error budgeting for components, assemblies, and system-level interfaces.
• Translate mission and system requirements into optical requirements, budgets, assumptions, interfaces, and verification approaches.
• Support optomechanical design maturation by defining optical surface specifications, coatings, materials, alignment datums, interfaces, inspection criteria, and optical performance requirements.
• Collaborate with mechanical engineers on optical mounts, interfaces, precision assemblies, mechanisms, and released engineering drawings.
• Perform or support STOP, thermo-optical, structural-optical, stray light, scattering, and ghost analyses.
• Evaluate the effects of thermal gradients, structural deformation, contamination, vibration, alignment errors, and other environmental conditions on optical performance.
• Work with thermal and structural engineers to incorporate analysis results into optical models and predict system performance across operational and environmental conditions.
• Develop optical error budgets and allocate performance requirements across optical, mechanical, thermal, controls, and manufacturing contributors.
• Support optical alignment planning, including alignment tolerances, datums, metrology requirements, adjustment strategies, and verification methods.
• Support optical fabrication, inspection, assembly, integration, and test activities.
• Review optical fabrication and inspection documentation, including surface figure, surface quality, coatings, materials, dimensional tolerances, and optical performance requirements.
• Develop and maintain technical documentation, including optical design reports, trade studies, analysis reports, interface control documents, requirements, performance budgets, and verification plans.
• Present optical performance, design trades, analysis results, technical risks, and recommended mitigations during internal design reviews and technical discussions.
• Participate in design reviews, hardware reviews, manufacturing reviews, integration activities, and environmental test campaigns.
• Identify opportunities to improve optical performance, reduce system complexity, decrease mass and cost, improve manufacturability, and increase reliability.
• Collaborate with manufacturing partners, optical fabricators, coating vendors, and specialty suppliers to resolve technical issues and ensure successful hardware development.
• Contribute to the development of optical engineering standards, design practices, analysis methodologies, and technical best practices.

What You'll Do

• Develop, analyze, and document optical architectures and detailed designs supporting space-based power beaming and other advanced optical applications.
• Build, maintain, and validate optical models using tools such as Zemax OpticStudio, Code V, FRED, ASAP, or equivalent.
• Perform optical architecture trades involving aperture, beam quality, efficiency, packaging, manufacturability, alignment sensitivity, thermal stability, and system-level performance.
• Develop and maintain optical performance budgets, including wavefront error, beam quality, transmission, pointing sensitivity, diffraction, scattering, and other mission-relevant performance metrics.
• Perform optical tolerancing, sensitivity analysis, alignment analysis, and optical error budgeting for components, assemblies, and system-level interfaces.
• Translate mission and system requirements into optical requirements, budgets, assumptions, interfaces, and verification approaches.
• Support optomechanical design maturation by defining optical surface specifications, coatings, materials, alignment datums, interfaces, inspection criteria, and optical performance requirements.
• Collaborate with mechanical engineers on optical mounts, interfaces, precision assemblies, mechanisms, and released engineering drawings.
• Perform or support STOP, thermo-optical, structural-optical, stray light, scattering, and ghost analyses.
• Evaluate the effects of thermal gradients, structural deformation, contamination, vibration, alignment errors, and other environmental conditions on optical performance.
• Work with thermal and structural engineers to incorporate analysis results into optical models and predict system performance across operational and environmental conditions.
• Develop optical error budgets and allocate performance requirements across optical, mechanical, thermal, controls, and manufacturing contributors.
• Support optical alignment planning, including alignment tolerances, datums, metrology requirements, adjustment strategies, and verification methods.
• Support optical fabrication, inspection, assembly, integration, and test activities.
• Review optical fabrication and inspection documentation, including surface figure, surface quality, coatings, materials, dimensional tolerances, and optical performance requirements.
• Develop and maintain technical documentation, including optical design reports, trade studies, analysis reports, interface control documents, requirements, performance budgets, and verification plans.
• Present optical performance, design trades, analysis results, technical risks, and recommended mitigations during internal design reviews and technical discussions.
• Participate in design reviews, hardware reviews, manufacturing reviews, integration activities, and environmental test campaigns.
• Identify opportunities to improve optical performance, reduce system complexity, decrease mass and cost, improve manufacturability, and increase reliability.
• Collaborate with manufacturing partners, optical fabricators, coating vendors, and specialty suppliers to resolve technical issues and ensure successful hardware development.
• Contribute to the development of optical engineering standards, design practices, analysis methodologies, and technical best practices.

What You Bring

• Master\'s degree in Optical Engineering, Physics, Applied Physics, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• 8+ years of professional experience in optical design, optical systems engineering, or precision optical systems development for Senior-level candidates.
• 12+ years of relevant experience preferred for Principal-level candidates.
• Demonstrated experience designing and analyzing complex optical systems using Zemax OpticStudio, Code V, FRED, ASAP, or equivalent tools.
• Strong experience with optical tolerancing, sensitivity analysis, alignment planning, and optical error budgeting.
• Strong understanding of geometric optics, physical optics, diffraction, wavefront error, scattering, and optical system performance.
• Experience developing optical systems in collaboration with mechanical engineering teams and supporting optomechanical interfaces and released engineering drawings.
• Familiarity with optical fabrication and inspection requirements, including surface figure, surface quality, coatings, materials, dimensional tolerances, and metrology.
• Experience developing technical design documentation, analysis reports, trade studies, requirements, and verification plans.
• Ability to translate system-level requirements into measurable optical performance requirements and verification methods.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to explain complex optical concepts to engineers from other disciplines.
• Demonstrated ability to independently own complex technical problems while working effectively within a multidisciplinary engineering team.

Preferred Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Optical Engineering, Physics, Applied Physics, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Direct experience developing spaceflight optical systems or optical payloads.
• Experience with one or more of the following:
• Space-based optical systems
• Directed energy systems
• Power beaming systems
• Beam directors
• Laser communication terminals
• High-energy laser systems
• Telescopes
• Precision pointing optical payloads
• Free-space optical systems
• Experience with STOP analysis, thermo-optical modeling, or coupled thermal/structural-optical analysis.
• Experience using FEA or thermal analysis results to predict optical performance and alignment stability.
• Experience with stray light, scattering, ghost analysis, baffle design, or optical contamination control.
• Experience with reflective optical systems and large-aperture optics.
• Experience with fast steering mirrors, deformable optics, active alignment, precision beam steering, or beam control.
• Experience developing optical systems through design, fabrication, alignment, integration, environmental testing, qualification, and delivery.
• Experience with thermal-vacuum, vibration, shock, contamination, and other environmental qualification testing.
• Experience working with flight hardware and space qualification requirements.
• Experience working directly with optical fabricators, precision manufacturers, coating vendors, and specialty aerospace suppliers.
• Familiarity with spacecraft systems engineering, requirements management, configuration management, and verification processes.
• Experience in a fast-paced startup or NewSpace environment where requirements, designs, and engineering processes evolve rapidly.

Personal Attributes

• Strong technical judgment with the ability to identify the first-order drivers of optical performance and focus engineering effort where it matters most.
• Practical engineering mindset focused on designs that can actually be fabricated, aligned, integrated, tested, qualified, and operated.
• High technical ownership of optical models, analyses, requirements, documentation, and engineering recommendations.
• Clear communicator who can explain complex optical issues to mechanical, systems, controls, thermal, manufacturing, and program teams.
• Collaborative and multidisciplinary, with the ability to advocate for optical performance while balancing system-level requirements, cost, schedule, manufacturability, and reliability.
• Comfortable operating with ambiguity and developing practical engineering solutions in a rapidly evolving environment.
• Mentorship-oriented, with a desire to raise the technical capabilities of the broader engineering organization.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Mantis Space is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We are committed to providing a workplace that is respectful, inclusive, and focused on professional excellence. Employment decisions are made based on qualifications, merit, and business needs. We value a wide range of experiences and perspectives and believe they contribute to strong teams and effective problem-solving. We encourage qualified individuals to apply regardless of background. Mantis Space is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities throughout the recruitment process. If you require accommodation or assistance at any stage of the application or interview process, please let us know.