Senior Principal Optical Systems Engineer

About the role

At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people’s lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation’s history—from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work—and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they’re making history.

The EOIR team is seeking a Senior Principal Optical Engineer to serve as a technical lead for optical implementations and system development on advanced electro‑optical and infrared (EO/IR) systems. In this role, you will work across multiple programs to solve complex challenges, coordinate with architects on program‑specific implementations, and engage regularly with customers on technical topics. You will also provide technical mentoring to junior staff as part of a 100% on‑site position based in Linthicum, MD.

Responsibilities

• Convert system performance and functional requirements into optical architectures, optical layouts, and detailed optical designs for airborne platforms.
• Analyze optical design performance, generate and flow down vendor specifications, and develop and execute alignment, integration, and test (AI&T) plans.
• Define architectures and lead implementations for IRAD, CRAD, and execution programs.
• Mentor and develop junior team members.
• Design, develop, integrate, test, and deploy optical systems for novel EOIR systems.
• Build and maintain physics‑based sensor models.
• Develop and quantify performance metrics for system performance.
• Understand data quality and artifact impacts.
• Represent system performance in functional and analytical models.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree with 8 years of experience, Master’s degree with 6 years of experience, or Ph.D. with 4 years of experience in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, or related technical fields; an additional 4 years of experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• A current/active U.S. Government Secret Clearance.
• Ability to obtain Special Program Access.
• Experience in Zemax, Code V, and/or FRED for optical design and analysis.
• Experience with optical theory and detailed optical design for both imaging and non‑imaging systems.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a team‑based environment, collaborating with systems, mechanical, electrical, and manufacturing disciplines.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with VIS, SWIR, MWIR, and/or LWIR remote sensing systems for both passive and active applications.
• Experience with material selection, including bulk optical materials, coatings, and environmental durability for VIS–LWIR optical systems.
• Experience with laser beam propagation and coupling between components (e.g., sources, fibers, free‑space optics, and detectors).
• Experience performing stray light analysis, tolerancing analysis, and related performance trades.
• Hands‑on experience with optical prototyping, fabrication, and test, including interpretation of inspection and test data.
• Experience generating optical component requirements and flowing system‑level requirements down to subsystems and parts.
• Experience designing, aligning, integrating, and testing active and passive optical systems, from breadboard through flight to fielded hardware.
• Familiarity with free‑space electro‑optic device physics and technologies (e.g., lasers, modulators, detectors, and associated subsystems).
• Experience generating and executing alignment, integration, and test (AI&T) plans for optical systems and optical components.
• Understanding of photonics and photonic components, such as integrated photonic devices, fiber‑based components, and related subsystems.

Clearance and Travel

Clearance required for start: Secret. Travel: up to 10% of the time.

Relocation

Relocation assistance may be available.