Optical Engineer

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

• CURRENT PENN STATE EMPLOYEE (faculty, staff, technical service, or student), please login to Workday to complete the internal application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.
• CURRENT PENN STATE STUDENT (not employed previously at the university) and seeking employment with Penn State, please login to Workday to complete the student application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.
• If you are NOT a current employee or student, please click "Apply" and complete the application process for external applicants.

JOB DESCRIPTION AND POSITION REQUIREMENTS:

We are seeking an optical engineer to join our Opto-Mechanical Systems team of the Applied Research Laboratory at Penn State (PSU). This position will support High Energy Laser (HEL) systems and other electro-optical (EO) development programs and will work closely with other engineers and scientists at Penn State and at DoD customer laboratories in the design, development, integration, and testing of optical systems.

This position will be fully on-site and located in Freeport, PA.

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

You will:

• Design and optimize components utilized for HEL, imaging and other EO systems.
• Integrate and test components/systems.
• Analyze and troubleshoot optical designs (image quality, stray light, radiometry, etc.).
• Model sensor performance in real world optical conditions (atmospheric transmissivity, turbulence, etc.).

This job will be filled at multiple levels depending upon the successful candidate's education and experience. Minimally requires a Bachelor's degree in an Engineering or Science discipline. Additional experience and/or education are required for higher level positions. A Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or Imaging Science is preferred.

Required skills/knowledge includes:

• Interest in hands-on optical design and laser applications and possess a broad understanding of electro-optical systems theory.
• Hands-on laboratory experience with optical components including lasers, lenses, mirrors, coatings, optical detectors, cameras, and opto-mechanical accessories including lens and mirror mounts.
• Experience with image analysis.
• An understanding of opto-mechanics; knowledge of current optics fabrication techniques and limitations.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Preferred skills/knowledge includes:

• Optical design software packages.
• Data acquisition hardware and software, including Labview and Matlab.
• Components specification and subsystem level requirements for vendors.
• Laser diagnostic equipment, to include power meters, beam profiling, thermal imaging, wavefront sensors, etc.
• Optical metrology equipment, to include interferometers, wavefront sensor, etc.
• Military or operational optical systems.
• Specification and integration of components for laser weapon system development.

ARL at Penn State is an integral part of one of the leading research universities in the nation and serves as a University center of excellence in defense science, systems, and technologies with a focus in naval missions and related areas.

You will be subject to a government security investigation, and you must be a U.S. citizen to apply. Employment with the ARL will require successful completion of a pre-employment drug screen.

ARL is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion; we believe this is central to our success as a Department of Defense designated University Affiliated Research Center (UARC). We are at our best when we