OPTICAL DESIGN AND MODELING FOR THE HABITABLE WORLDS OBSERVATORY

About the role

The NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) offers unique research opportunities in the optical design and modeling of advanced space flight instrumentation for the Habitable Worlds Observatory. Fellows will engage in ongoing NASA research projects at NASA Centers, Headquarters, or affiliated institutes, focusing on areas such as optical design trades, detailed system and component design, performance analyses, and modeling, and specifying optical components for fabrication.

Responsibilities

- Perform optical design trades, detailed optical system and component design, tolerancing, performance analyses, and modeling. - Specify optical components for fabrication. - Design and model centered and unobscured all-reflective and catadioptric optical systems, freeform optics, lens systems, coronagraphs, star-shades, spectroscopic instruments, wavefront sensing and control, polarization ray tracing, gradient index optics, holograms, holographic optical elements, wave propagation, optomechanical design, stray light design, edge sensors, laser metrology trusses, and in-process optical testing. - Utilize extensive computational resources and metrology test facilities at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

Requirements

- Doctoral degree. - Must be a U.S. Citizen, U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR), Foreign National eligible for an Exchange Visitor J-1 visa status, or applicants for LPR, asylees, or refugees in the U.S. with valid EAD cards and pending I-485 or I-589 forms.

Qualifications

- Strong background in optical design and modeling. - Experience with advanced space flight instrumentation. - Proficiency in computational tools and metrology techniques.

Skills

- Optical design and modeling. - Performance analysis and modeling. - Component design and specification. - Advanced optical systems design. - Computational resources and metrology test facility utilization.

Benefits

- Competitive one- to three-year fellowship. - Unique research opportunities at NASA Centers, Headquarters, or affiliated institutes. - Access to extensive computational resources and metrology test facilities.

Pay

- Competitive stipend.

Schedule

- One- to three-year term.