Optical Engineering Lead

Being on the BlueHalo, an AV Company team means working alongside the brightest minds in technology on the toughest challenges facing our nation - not just occasionally, but every single day. Together, we are leading the transformation of modern warfare and each BlueHalo, an AV Company employee plays a key role. That's why our investment in you goes beyond a rewarding salary and benefits package. We're committed to providing our people with the best opportunities to develop their skills, share their knowledge, and push their innovative ideas to the cutting edge. Having fun doing it with a team that feels like family across BlueHalo, an AV CompanyNation is the ultimate perk. From Space and Directed Energy to Cyber and Intelligence to C4ISR and Air & Missile Defense, there is no limit to where you can take your career with us. Are you ready to launch a career at BlueHalo, an AV Company?

We are seeking an experienced Optical Engineering Lead to join our team in Albuquerque, NM.

Primary Responsibilities Include:

• Architecture and design of optical systems intended for space flight applications.
• Develop and execute assembly and test procedures for free-space and fiber-optic systems for space-flight applications.
• Define optical performance and tolerance requirements.
• Support installation and testing of optical components, assemblies, and payloads with thermal chambers, vacuum chambers, and vibration stages.
• Build and align free-space optics assemblies and testbeds.
• Fiber-optic assembly involving high-reliability fusion splicing processes for specialty fiber types
• Define electrooptic part requirements.
• Manage link budget requirements for free-space optical communications.
• Support proposal and internal research and development efforts.
• Presenting technical reports and analysis to customers.
• This position will require technical oversight for multiple programs, budget generation and oversight, leading team members, involvement in the hiring process and mentoring.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in optical, electrical engineering, or physics and 5+ years of professional experience.
• Experience working on space flight and/or airborne programs and has preferably experienced the entire program lifecycle from design to delivery.
• Understanding of systems engineering practices and ability to apply those practices to an optical payload.
• Experience handling and aligning free-space optical components, such as lenses and mirrors.
• Experience operating lasers and optical metrology equipment.
• Experience using optical modeling software such as OpticStudio, Code V, or similar.
• Clear understanding of optical concepts such as PSF, MTF, angular resolution, etc. and how the concepts relate to the overall system performance trade space.
• Experience performing measurements using optical and electrical test equipment.
• Knowledge of fiber optic and electrooptic parts including taps, circulators, PIN photodiodes, etc.
• Experience working in a cleanroom environment.
• Experience using scientific programming languages such as python, MATLAB, Julia, etc. for data analysis and modeling.
• U.S. Citizen.

Desired Qualifications:

• Master's degree
• 5+ years professional experience
• Knowledge of optical communications modulation and demodulation schemes
• Experience with STOP analysis
• Experience managing personnel
• Software development with LabVIEW, C++, Java, Matlab, or Python for data acquisition and test automation
• Enjoy working on complex systems with interdisciplinary engineering teams

Salary Range: $120,000 - $180,000

The BlueHalo, an AV Company pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Determination of official compensation or salary relies on several factors including, but not limited to, level of position, job responsibilities, geographic location, scope of relevant work experience, educational background, certifications, contract-specific affordability, organizational requirements, alignment with local internal equity as well as alignment with market data.

Our compensation package also includes components designed to support employees' total well-being, which should be considered when evaluating our competitive benefits package. These benefits include health insurance, life insurance, disability, company holiday and paid time off, parental leave, 401(k) company match and contributions, professional development/training reimbursements, and other work/life programs.