Electro-Optical & Infrared (EO/IR) Engineer

What You'll Do

• Build, validate, and maintain physics-based and empirical models in Python to predict EO/IR sensor performance, including detection, recognition, and identification ranges across visible, NIR, SWIR, MWIR, and LWIR bands.
• Conduct sensor performance trade studies that account for atmospheric effects, target signatures, background clutter, optical design parameters, detector characteristics, and signal processing chains.
• Apply advanced DSP techniques to event-based camera data to develop next-generation target detection, tracking, and discrimination algorithms that exploit the high temporal resolution, wide dynamic range, and sparse output of event sensors.
• Develop, document, and flow down system and subsystem requirements for EO/IR payloads, ensuring traceability from customer needs through hardware and software implementation.
• Support the full systems engineering lifecycle, including concept development, requirements analysis, architecture definition, verification planning, and integration and test.
• Contribute to business development efforts by authoring technical sections of proposals, generating performance predictions and supporting analyses, and developing white papers in response to customer needs and solicitations.
• Prepare and deliver technical presentations to internal stakeholders, customers, and partners, clearly communicating complex sensor performance concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including optical engineers, mechanical and electrical designers, software developers, and program management to ensure technical solutions meet program objectives.
• Understand and investigate physics-based phenomenology that could aid in target discrimination, including spectral, spatial, temporal, and polarimetric signatures across relevant operating environments.
• Stay current with emerging EO/IR technologies, threat environments, and modeling tools, and recommend approaches that improve performance, reduce risk, or differentiate the company's offerings.

Required Technical Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Physics, Optical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Minimum of 10+ years of demonstrated experience with EO/IR sensor performance modeling and analysis, including familiarity with industry-standard tools such as NV-IPM, SSCAMIP, MODTRAN, or equivalent.
• Demonstrated experience with Digital Signal Processing on EO/IR data.
• Working knowledge of radiometry, optical system design fundamentals, detector physics, and atmospheric propagation.
• Experience developing system requirements and supporting requirements management activities.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to produce clear technical documentation and deliver effective presentations.
• Proficiency with Python and associated python packages for sensor analysis, DSP and data reduction.

Preferred Technical Skills

• Master's degree or PhD in a relevant technical field.
• Prior experience contributing to government or commercial proposal efforts, including cost, schedule, and technical volume contributions.
• Background working with airborne, ground-based, or space-based EO/IR systems for ISR, targeting, missile warning, or remote sensing applications.
• Familiarity with target signature modeling, clutter modeling, and image-based performance assessment techniques.
• Experience with model-based systems engineering (MBSE) approaches and digital engineering environments.