OPTICAL ENGINEER, QA (OPTICAL PAYLOADS)

About the Role

We are looking for an Optical Engineer – QA (Optical Payloads) to join our mission. This role involves overseeing quality assurance across optical fabrication, assembly, alignment, and testing for space-grade refractive and reflective imaging systems. The position offers hands-on exposure to cleanroom operations, space qualification processes, and advanced optical metrology. You will work cross-functionally with optical design and AIT (Assembly, Integration & Testing) teams to draft QA procedures aligned with NASA, ECSS, and ISRO standards.

Key Responsibilities

• QA Procedure Development: Draft and implement quality assurance protocols for optical component fabrication, coating, and subsystem assembly following NASA, ECSS, and ISRO guidelines.
• Cross-Functional Alignment Oversight: Partner with optical, opto-mechanical, and system engineers during payload integration, ensuring adherence to QA guidelines during alignment using interferometers, autocollimators, and theodolites.
• Design Review Documentation: Prepare QA chapters and compliance metrics for Preliminary and Critical Design Reviews (PDR/CDR) of optical payloads.
• Contamination & Cleanroom Control: Enforce cleanroom protocols and contamination control procedures through routine verification during integration and testing campaigns.
• Test & Evaluation Execution: Collaborate on test and evaluation documentation, monitoring optical parameters during environmental tests (thermal, thermal vacuum, vibration, and shock) and compiling electro-optic measurement reports.
• Calibration Support: Participate in end-to-end radiometric and spectral calibration exercises.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Foundational understanding of optical principles, imaging systems, and basic optical alignment techniques.
• Ability to thrive in a team-based, multidisciplinary, and fast-paced engineering environment with a keen eye for detail.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Optical Engineering, Applied Optics, Photonics, or a Master’s degree in Physics / Applied Physics with a strong academic focus on optics.
• Fresh graduates with relevant academic projects, internships, or lab work in optics, OR early-career professionals with 1–3 years of experience in optical QA or related environments.

Preferred / Nice-to-Have Skills

• Hands-on experience with optical metrology tools such as interferometers, spectrometers, or theodolites.
• Practical knowledge of cleanroom working protocols and contamination control.
• Prior academic or internship exposure to optical system testing, calibration, or environmental testing.
• Familiarity with aerospace space standards (ECSS, NASA, or ISRO).