{"id":3791230,"url":"https://alion.io/job/l3harris-technologies-lead-optical-engineering-stray-light","title":"Lead, Optical Engineering - Stray light","company":{"id":177017,"name":"L3Harris Technologies","domain":"l3harris.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/l3harris-technologies","size_band":"5000+","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"SuccessFactors","truth_index":{"grade":"A","score":100,"open_postings":53,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.019,"repost_share":0.038,"time_to_fill_p50_days":21,"computed_at":"2026-11-09T06:03:00Z"}},"role":"Semiconductors","role_family":"Semiconductors","seniority":"lead","employment_type":null,"work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Rochester, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":117000,"max":218000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":218000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":13,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"MATLAB","optional":true},{"name":"Python","optional":true},{"name":"SLI/SLO/SLA","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-11-05T06:44:39Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-11-05","last_verified_at":"2026-11-10T00:37:31Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":4,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":4},"description":"Job Title: Lead, Optical Engineering - Stray light\nJob Code: 47364\nJob Location: Rochester, New York\nJob Schedule: 9/80 (Every Other Friday Off!)\nJob Description:\nWe are seeking a highly motivated Lead Optical Engineer to support the design, analysis, and development of advanced optical and electro-optical systems for aerospace and defense applications. This role is centered on stray light analysis and control methods, with primary responsibilities in optical system modeling, performance analysis, and non-sequential evaluation to ensure mission-critical system performance in challenging operational environments. The position will support active and passive imaging payloads where stray light suppression, radiometric accuracy, and optical performance directly influence mission success.\nThe ideal candidate has a strong background in optical system engineering and experience with complex imaging or sensing systems across design, test, and verification. They will work closely with cross-functional teams including optical, mechanical, electrical, systems, software, and manufacturing engineering to support programs from concept through integration and test. This engineer will help mature payload architectures, evaluate optical trades, and quantify how stray light, throughput, background sources, and image chain behavior affect end-to-end system performance in operational space environments.\nThis role is best suited for someone who combines strong technical knowledge and hardware experience, is comfortable leading complex technical work, and can communicate effectively with internal teams, leadership, suppliers, and customers. Candidates should have experience identifying stray light sources, developing mitigation strategies, and assessing their impact on overall optical system performance. Familiarity with stray light analysis tools such as FRED is highly desirable.\nThis position is in Rochester: L3Harris in New York\nEssential Functions:\nLead or support optical engineering activities for advanced imaging, sensing, and electro-optical systems.\nLead development of non-sequential stray light and radiometric models for active and passive imaging systems, including assessment of scattering, ghosting, and optical throughput for space-based payloads.\nSupport system performance analysis and verification of key optical requirements such as wavefront error, line of sight, distortion, focus, focal length, image quality, and related optical performance metrics.\nPerform end-to-end optical performance analyses that connect design features to mission-level image quality, signal-to-noise, and sensitivity outcomes, and communicate resulting risks, margins, and mitigation recommendations to program teams.\nContribute to assessment of optical system behavior including ghosting, scattering, and stray light performance, as needed for system design and verification efforts.\nSupport design trades for baffles, stops, surface treatments, contamination control, and alignment strategies to reduce stray light and preserve radiometric and optical performance through integration, test, and environmental exposure.\nGenerate and review technical documentation including test plans, procedures, error budgets, requirements verification artifacts, design review materials, and final reports.\nCollaborate with cross-functional engineering teams to ensure optical designs are manufacturable, testable, and fully integrated into the broader system architecture.\nProvide technical leadership in troubleshooting, root cause analysis, and resolution of optical performance issues during development and test.\nSupport hardware builds, laboratory demonstrations, integration efforts, and verification campaigns.\nInterface with internal stakeholders, external partners, and suppliers to coordinate technical execution and ensure requirements are clearly understood and met.\nContribute to risk identification, mitigation planning, and continuous improvement of engineering processes and test methods.\nMentor junior engineers and provide guidance in optical analysis, test execution, and engineering best practices.\nQualifications:\nBachelor’s Degree and minimum 9 years of prior relevant experience. Graduate Degree and a minimum of 7 years of prior related experience. In lieu of a degree, minimum of 13 years of prior related experience.\n2-3 years of relevant experience in optical stray light analysis tools such as FRED\nAbility to obtain a federal security clearance\nPreferred Additional Skills:\nHolds an active Secret or Top Secret/SCI clearance.\nRelevant experience with the design, manufacture, integration, test and sell-off of space-based EO/IR subsystems.\nHands-on experience with optical metrology equipment (interferometers, autocollimators, laser trackers) and phase retrieval techniques.\nFamiliarity with specialized metrology software, including Zygo Mx and QED.NET.\nExperience with the design, manufacture, integration, test, and sell-off of space-based EO/IR subsystems.\nExperience with Optical Design software such as CodeV, Zemax OpticStudio\nAbility to collaborate across all levels of leadership.\nWork collaboratively with others and complete assignments with a team-oriented approach.\nStrong communication and interpersonal skills - taking complex concepts and sharing with others.\nAbility to architect an end-to-end space system with a full understanding of the product lifecycle.\nExperience with project management aspects of technology development programs.\nExperience with estimating and managing costs & creating and managing schedule\nCandidate with an active Top Secret/SCI clearance is highly desirable.\nOptical Engineering experience with EO/IR space-based payloads, vehicle systems, and/or high performance imaging systems.\nExperience with programming languages such as Matlab and Python\nWorking knowledge of optical scatter mechanisms, BSDF/BRDF concepts, ghost path analysis, and the interaction between optical design choices and system-level performance.\nIn compliance with pay transparency requirements, the salary range for this role in New York is $117,000 - $218,000. This is not a guarantee of compensation or salary, as final offer amount may vary based on factors including but not limited to experience and geographic location. L3Harris also offers a variety of benefits, including health and disability insurance, 401(k) match, flexible spending accounts, EAP, education assistance, parental leave, paid time off, and company-paid holidays. The specific programs and options available to an employee may vary depending on date of hire, schedule type, and the applicability of collective bargaining agreements.","description_format":"text","description_chars":6656,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":13,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":true,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Education assistance","Parental leave"],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["C4ISR","Military Satellites","Military Communication","Electronic Warfare"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-11-05T06:44:39Z"}],"visa":[{"country":"US","licensed_sponsor":true,"adverts_offering_sponsorship_24m":0,"sanctioned_now":false,"evidence":"H-1B filings in 12 months: 5","filings_12m":5,"filings_prev_12m":7,"green_card_filings_12m":0,"median_offered_wage_usd":107500,"route":null,"cap_exempt":false,"checked_at":"2026-11-09T07:32:21+00:00","sources":["US Department of Labor: LCA disclosure data (H-1B, H-1B1, E-3)","US Department of Labor: PERM disclosure data (green cards)"],"filings_for_role_12m":0}],"liveness":{"score":90,"band":"hot","label":"Hiring now","p_open":1,"p_active":0.903,"p_room":1,"age_days":3,"expected_fill_days":21,"reasons":["conf:5","velocity","win:early","comp:brand"],"computed_at":"2026-11-09T06:03:00Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":218000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/l3harris-technologies-lead-optical-engineering-stray-light","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/l3harris-technologies-lead-optical-engineering-stray-light.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-11-10T05:54:00Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":13687,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-11-11T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.1,"usd":0.01,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":177017},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=177017"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fl3harris-technologies-lead-optical-engineering-stray-light"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":2,"usd":0.2},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fl3harris-technologies-lead-optical-engineering-stray-light"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.1,"usd":0.01},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fl3harris-technologies-lead-optical-engineering-stray-light"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/l3harris-technologies-lead-optical-engineering-stray-light\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fl3harris-technologies-lead-optical-engineering-stray-light"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":3791230}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"l3harris.com","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":3791230},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); https://alion.io/mcp with an Alion account has everything. Docs: https://alion.io/developers"}}