You own the performance of the seeker's optical train, from the first prescription to every fielded round. A perfect optical system images a point as a point; your job is to hold the seeker as close to that as physics allows in excess of Mach 3 aerothermal loads, vibration, and shock, and to prove it with an error budget that closes. You design the optical train, prescription included, you build and align it with your own hands, and you deliver it as a specified, tested component. Wherever optical performance is in question, you lead. You report to the seeker lead and work in tight partnership with the perception hardware integration engineer: you own how well the seeker sees; they own the seeker as a working system. What You'll Do • Own the optical error budget end to end, from prescription through fielded units, including the aero-optical path: dome heating, in-band self-emission, and wavefront error at Mach 3 speeds. • Design the lens prescriptions in Zemax or Code V, and the opto-mechanics around them: mounts, baffles, windows and domes, FPA interface, athermalization, and detector thermal management. • Build, align, and test optical modules at the bench, and author the acceptance spec every delivered module is tested against. • Define detector requirements from the sensitivity budget and partner on the selection trade. • Own module-level environmental qualification and the design response when optical hardware fails qual. • Own the optical supply chain: supplier qualification and vendor relationships for optical surfaces, their mounts, and optical test equipment. • Hold sign-off on every interface that touches the optical column. Skills We're Hiring For • B.S. in Optical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or related; M.S. preferred. • 10+ years of hands-on IR or precision optical hardware design and integration, from CAD through environmental qualification. • Wave and geometric optics from first principles, with Seidel/Zernike fluency; able to diagnose an aberrated system at the bench. • Design-level Zemax or Code V; stray-light analysis with FRED, ASAP, or TracePro. • Athermal design, error-budget construction, tolerance analysis, and bonded/elastomeric optical mounting for IR systems. • Hands-on optical metrology: interferometry, MTF, boresight, transmission, stray light. • MWIR and/or LWIR phenomenology sufficient to defend seeker performance claims. • A working vendor network across the IR optical supply chain. Bonus Points For • LWIR (8 to 14 bcm) optical assemblies in a tactical or airborne product. • High-g optical assembly experience. • Production transition of an optical assembly from prototype to volume. • Direct missile, munition, or seeker program experience. Eligibility & Logistics Location: On-site at our Los Angeles, CA HQ; remote work is not available. Monthly weekend travel for test events and supplier engagements. Clearance: A clearance is not required for this position. Must be a U.S. Person.