The RoleSpecter is hiring an Optics & Camera Engineering Lead to own camera performance across our product portfolio. This individual will own the imaging stack end to end: sensor and lens selection, optical requirements tied to CV/ML and customer outcomes, vendor and JDM programs, test campaigns and results analysis, and high volume production. This individual will collaborate with systems, software, CV/ML, electrical, mechanical, manufacturing, supply chain and test teams to deliver performant, scalable and validated camera + optical systems to the field.
The role spans the full stack. One day you'll be benchmarking sensors and lenses for a new product. Next, you'll work with our CV/ML team to translate detection, recognition and LPR performance at range into pixel density, MTF and low-light targets, or review athermal lens designs, define a slant-edge MTF test across temperature, or analyze a wiper endurance run. You'll work with systems, software, electrical, mechanical, manufacturing and supply chain, and lead technical engagements with tier-one optics and sensor suppliers.
Responsibilities:Select sensors and lenses- Evaluate and select image sensors for each product, comparing low-light performance (SNR1s, QE at 850/940 nm), pixel size, resolution, frame rate, HDR, supply life and cost.
- Select off-the-shelf lenses or specify custom designs matched to each sensor: FOV, F-number, MTF across the field, NIR correction, distortion, relative illumination and athermal behavior.
- Evaluate and select the ISP architecture (on-sensor, companion ASIC/FPGA or SoC ISP), weighing image quality, latency, power, cost and supply, and drive ISP tuning and pipeline development for day and NIR night modes.
- Benchmark sensor and lens candidates side by side in the lab and the field, and keep a qualified roster of sensors, lenses and IR-cut filters ready for new programs.
Connect customer value to optical requirements- Translate customer use cases and CV/ML performance into camera requirements using pixel-density frameworks such as IEC 62676-4 DORI.
- Run coverage and range trade studies across sensor resolution, FOV, mounting height, pixel density, IR range, inference load, power and cost.
- Define MTF, aperture, distortion, relative illumination, stray light and NIR focus targets, and tie them to measured model precision and recall at distance.
- Design and run real-world field test campaigns across sites, lighting and weather, and use the resulting model and image-quality data to close the loop from camera change to quantified customer impact and drive design decisions.
Own optical and camera system design- Own optical performance specifications for fixed, multi-camera, panoramic and PTZ products.
- Integrate the selected sensor, lens, IR-cut filter and mount into a camera system that meets spec across every operating condition.
- Drive athermal design so focus and MTF hold across a wide operating range under solar loading, accounting for IR-cut filters, lens mounts, flange CTE, humidity and pressure.
- Specify NIR illumination (LED and laser) matched to lens FOV, including frame-synced strobing, IEC 60825-1 eye safety, thermal limits and internal-reflection control.
- Guide window, coating, heater, wiper and sun-shade design so optical performance survives years of outdoor service.
- Use optical simulation to evaluate concepts quickly and review supplier prescriptions with confidence.
Lead vendor and JDM programs- Own the technical content of RFPs for camera modules and complete camera systems, and evaluate proposals on performance, cost, schedule and risk.
- Lead technical work with optics suppliers and ODM/JDM partners on off-the-shelf selection, custom lens design, active alignment and production test.
- Hold partners to design reviews and gate criteria from design through EVT, DVT and PVT.
Build test capability and run campaigns- Grow Specter's optical lab: collimators, slant-edge MTF, focus through temperature, flare and stray light, low-light SNR, IR range and FOV/distortion measurement.
- Design and qualify optical test equipment for development, reliability and manufacturing, with documented gauge R&R.
- Plan and run lab reliability and qualification campaigns covering thermal, humidity, condensation, solar loading, ingress, cleaning and coating endurance, and field life, then analyze results and drive decisions.
- Define calibration (intrinsics, extrinsics, per-unit data) and production acceptance tests at our contract manufacturers.
Scale to production and grow the team- Take camera systems from concept to volume production with partners and CMs, driving design for manufacturability, automated focus and alignment, and yield.
- Partner with embedded imaging engineers on sensor bring-up, driver integration and day/night switching in production.
- Mentor engineers across camera, image quality, test and manufacturing engineering.
- Track emerging imaging technology (large-format sensors, zoom optics, EO/IR fusion, camera arrays, computational imaging) and recommend where Specter should invest.
Qualifications:- 8+ years in optical, imaging or camera systems engineering, with multiple camera products shipped to volume production.
- Fluency across the stack, from how image quality affects CV/ML and the end user down to lens design, mechanics and test.
- Deep knowledge of image sensors, lens design and the trade-offs among resolution, FOV, F-number, MTF, aberrations, depth of focus and thermal stability.
- Hands-on optical simulation with Zemax OpticStudio, CODE V or similar.
- A track record specifying off-the-shelf and custom lenses with suppliers, with clear performance and cost trade-offs.
- Athermalization experience covering both mechanical design and optical performance across temperature (focus shift, MTF drift).
- Experience designing optical test equipment and running test campaigns, with rigorous data analysis behind decisions.
- Experience with NIR imaging and active illumination, as well as L/M/SWIR systems.
- Experience taking hardware through NPI with contract manufacturers or ODM/JDM partners.
- Clear communication of optical trade-offs to software, business and customer-facing teams.
Nice to Have- Outdoor, automotive or security camera experience, including sealing, condensation, window cleaning and environmental qualification.
- Active alignment and high-volume camera module manufacturing.
- PTZ, zoom/focus optics, panoramic or multi-camera systems, and camera calibration for computer vision.
- EO/IR (thermal) imaging.
- GMSL/FPD-Link camera interfaces and ISP tuning.
- Laser illumination and eye-safety certification.
- Experience leading engineers and cross-functional technical programs.
Tool Proficiency- Zemax OpticStudio, CODE V or equivalent optical design software.
- Imatest or equivalent image quality analysis tools.
- Python or MATLAB for test automation and data analysis.
- Familiarity with MCAD (SolidWorks) for opto-mechanical review.
- Computer vision fundamentals and tools (OpenCV or similar) for image analysis, calibration and evaluating model performance.
- Linux command line for sensor bring-up, data capture and scripting on embedded systems.
- Hardware reliability and test methods: environmental qualification, accelerated life testing, FMEA and failure analysis.
