Senior Optical Engineer

Digantara is a leading Space Surveillance and Intelligence company focused on ensuring orbital safety and sustainability. With expertise in space-based detection, tracking, identification, and monitoring, Digantara provides comprehensive domain awareness across regimes, allowing end users to have actionable intelligence on a single platform. At the core of its infrastructure lies a sophisticated integration of hardware and software capabilities aligned with the key principles of situational awareness: perception (data collection), comprehension (data processing), and prediction (analytics). This holistic approach empowers Digantara to monitor all Resident Space Objects (RSOs) in orbit, fostering comprehensive domain awareness.

• Competitive incentives, galvanizing workspace, blazing team, frequent outings—pretty much everything you have heard about a startup + you get to work on space technology.
• Hustle in a well-funded startup, allowing you to take charge of your responsibilities and create your moonshot.

Ideal Candidate:

Someone with extensive expertise in complete lifecycle (design, development, and testing) of satellite electro-optical payloads or ground telescopes designed for low f/#, diffraction limited performance.

• Carry out the requirements analysis for ground and space-based telescope systems, translating mission needs into detailed optical system specifications
• Collaborate with systems engineering and optomechanical design teams to ensure seamless design, development, integration, and testing of optical systems
• Design and optimize telescope performance using optical simulation software ZEMAX/Code V or other relevant software, focusing on key parameters like FOV, focusing, aberration, stray light, distortion, and relative illumination
• Design and analyze baffle systems to minimize stray light and enhance image quality
• Conduct trade-off studies, Monte Carlo simulations, and analyses to optimize optical design, considering performance, cost, and manufacturability
• Select and evaluate optical components for the telescope design considering satellite payload application and work closely with optics manufacturers to ensure high-quality fabrication and assembly
• Develop and execute optical testing procedures to validate system performance
• Document optical system designs, analyses, and test results thoroughly throughout the development lifecycle

• Bachelor’s/master’s degree or PhD in optics/astronomy/physics or any relevant field
• 8-12 years of research/industry experience with significant aptitude in telescope design, optical simulations, and testing
• Demonstrated expertise in the entire lifecycle (design, development, analysis, and testing) of complex optical systems, including telescopes
• Deep understanding of light propagation, optical system design principles, stray light analysis, and optical imaging concepts
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills

Preferred Skills 

• Experience in designing and building space-based or ground-based telescopes is highly desirable
• Hands-on experience in an optical laboratory, including testing, alignment, and calibration of telescopes in a clean room environment
• Familiarity with adaptive optics technologies
• Experience with optomechanical design and integration
• Knowledge of the latest advancements in optical technology and fabrication techniques
• Understanding of statistical tolerancing methods
• Knowledge of the standards for satellite payload hardware is an advantage

General Requirements 

• Ability to work in a mission-focused, operational environment.
• Ability to think critically and make independent decisions.
• Interpersonal skills to enable working in a diverse and dynamic team.
• Maintain a regular and predictable work schedule.
• Writing and delivering technical documents and briefings.
• Verbal and written communication skills as well as organizational skills.
• Travel occasionally as necessary.

Job Location: Hebbal, Bengaluru

Work Type: WFO with alternate Saturdays