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Senior Optical Engineer
| Company | Planet |
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| Location | San Francisco, CA, USA |
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| Salary | $144500 – $180600 |
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| Type | Full-Time |
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| Degrees | Bachelor’s |
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| Experience Level | Senior |
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Requirements
- 6-8 years of total relevant experience, such as airborne or space-based imaging payloads, cameras, or telescopes.
- 3+ years relevant experience in assembly, integration, alignment, and test of optical instruments, telescopes, and/or optics in fields such as defense, aerospace, automotive, biomedical, or related
- Experience leveraging scientific tools based in Zemax, MATLAB, Python and/or C/C++ to advance design maturity and analyze system performance
- Hands-on, can-do attitude, great interpersonal skills, and ability to collaborate effectively
- First hand experience working with external vendors, suppliers, and integrators
- Experience in recording detailed and accurate test descriptions and data summaries
- Experience in driving the definition and execution of Ground Support Equipment (GSE)
- Experience in manufacturing and production environments, including New Product Implementation (NPI)
- Practical experience troubleshooting and debugging complex systems
- Educational background in Optical Engineering or equivalent experience
Responsibilities
- Coordinating and executing key optical manufacturing activities, such as optical metrology and alignment activities for telescope and sensor integration and troubleshooting
- Understanding and executing warm and cold alignment and performance testing of imaging spectrometers, telescopes, and end-to-end instruments
- Writing test plans and performing analysis of measured data for alignment and calibration of imaging systems
- Developing and expanding upon test software and electrical ground support equipment (GSE) for the characterization and automation of alignment and performance testing
- Coordinating and performing optomechanical manufacturing activities, such as bonding and fixturing
- Organize and participate in integration & test activities in cleanroom environments
- Leading the continued design, manufacturing, testing, and operation of advanced imaging payloads
- Collaborating with external partners to transfer advanced imaging expertise into Planet to establish a vibrant and financially sustainable platform
- Providing technical oversight of external vendors
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with visible, multispectral or hyperspectral imaging systems
- Experience with space flight program lifecycle stages including design, assembly, integration and test, or flight operations of imaging or camera hardware
- Experience with collecting large amounts of data, data storage and data manipulation
- Experience collaborating in a technical manner across organizational and functional boundaries to deliver capability to users
- MS/PhD in EE, CS, AA or relevant scientific/engineering field
