Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Lead opto-mechanical design and development across multiple aerospace and defense programs from concept through production and field deployment.
• Develop precision mechanical architectures for electro-optical systems operating in space, airborne, and ground-based environments.
• Perform and lead engineering analyses to validate designs for structural integrity, stiffness, strength, vibration, shock, thermal performance, environmental durability, manufacturability, reliability, schedule, and cost.
• Lead technical trade studies involving structural configuration, materials, mechanisms, thermal management, tolerancing, manufacturability, and system-level performance.
• Develop technical requirements, specifications, concepts, preliminary and detailed designs, engineering analyses, test procedures, assembly procedures, and technical reports.
• Create, review, and approve technical data packages, including fabrication, assembly, interface, source-control, and configuration-controlled drawings, in accordance with ASME Y14.5 and applicable internal and customer standards.
• Apply advanced GD&T and tolerance analysis techniques to ensure optical alignment, mechanical interfaces, and system performance requirements are achieved.
• Specify, select, and integrate electromechanical actuators, precision mechanisms, bearings, flexures, and positioning components used for optical alignment and positioning.
• Conduct or oversee Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and other analytical methods to evaluate structural and mechanical performance.
• Support thermal analysis and thermal-mechanical design of electro-optical assemblies, including interfaces between optical, mechanical, and electronic components.
• Design for and evaluate performance in demanding environments, including vibration, shock, thermal cycling, temperature extremes, contamination, and other applicable aerospace environmental conditions.
• Apply knowledge of MIL-SPECs, MIL-STDs, aerospace standards, component qualification requirements, and component failure modes to product design and development.
• Support engineering development and qualification testing, including test planning, instrumentation, test readiness, data review, failure investigation, and corrective actions.
• Lead technical design reviews, including SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, and other program milestone reviews, as applicable.
• Author and present technical material during internal, customer, and cross-functional design reviews.
• Proactively identify and mitigate technical, schedule, cost, manufacturing, and supply-chain risks throughout the product lifecycle.
• Work as a technical leader within an Integrated Product Team (IPT), coordinating across mechanical, optical, electrical, systems, manufacturing, quality, test, and program management functions.
• Provide technical mentorship and guidance to mechanical engineers, designers, and technicians, helping establish sound engineering practices and developing the next generation of technical talent.
• Support transition from engineering development to production through design-for-manufacturability, producibility, inspection, assembly, and configuration-management activities.
• Contribute technical content to cost, schedule, technical, and management volumes for proposals, bids, and new business opportunities.
• Support customer engagements and provide technical input to requirements development, solution definition

Position Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or higher.
• 7+ years of experience in opto-mechanical design for aerospace, or defense systems.
• Advanced proficiency in SolidWorks or equivalent CAD tools and GD&T per ASME Y14.5.
• Proven experience developing Technical Data Packages, specifications, and conceptual designs.
• Experience in systems thinking including trade studies, analysis of alternatives, developing requirements .
• Strong understanding of DFM/DFA, material properties, tolerance analyses, and design‑to‑cost optimization and environmental qualification requirements.
• Experience in electro‑optic design or manufacturing environments.
• U.S. Person status required; eligibility for security clearance preferred.

Preferred Extras

• Experience with FEA and analysis tools in Solidworks.
• Experience with MIL‑STD‑810 testing (shock, vibration, thermal).
• Familiarity with optical‑mechanical alignment and precision mechanism design.
• Experience with PDM, and ERP or PLM systems for configuration and BOM control.