Optical Design and Integration Engineer

About Diffraqtion

Diffraqtion builds a novel Quantum Vision System that pulls more information out of each photon than conventional imaging allows. Our photonics process incoming light before it reaches the sensor, so the computation happens passively in the light itself. We are an early-stage team in Somerville by founders from MIT and Harvard, working under NASA and DARPA contracts and backed by Lockheed Martin and Sumitomo. Our systems are headed for satellites that protect assets in orbit and on the ground, and for telescopes hunting Earth-like planets around other stars.  You would be joining early, with real hardware to build and real missions to put it on.

The Role

We are seeking an Optical Design and Integration Engineer to design, build, and test the imaging optics at the heart of our Quantum Camera, and to integrate our Quantum Vision System with a range of host telescopes and camera modules. You will own optical subsystems end to end: translating system requirements into optical designs in Zemax, tolerancing them for manufacture, specifying and sourcing components, leading assembly and alignment, and verifying performance against requirements on the bench and on the host system. Our systems combine conventional refractive and reflective imaging optics with diffractive elements, so you will work at the intersection of classical lens design and diffractive optics. Optical design is the core of this role, and much of it is making our system work behind someone else’s optics: matching pupils, f-numbers, plate scales, and fields of view, and designing the relay and interface optics that couple each telescope or camera to our system. You will collaborate daily with our opto-mechanical, electronics, and AI teams to deliver hardware that moves from lab prototype to ground-based telescope deployments and flight-qualified payloads headed for Low Earth Orbit.

The ideal candidate has 3–5 years of industry experience delivering optical imaging systems that were actually built and tested—not just modeled. You are fluent in Zemax and comfortable designing to an existing telescope or camera prescription, you know how to write a component spec a vendor can quote against, and you have the bench skills to align a system, integrate it onto a host platform, and prove out its MTF. You care about schedules, tolerances, and test reports as much as about elegant designs, and you are comfortable making engineering trade-offs in a fast-moving startup environment.

Note: This position requires U.S. citizenship, lawful permanent resident status, or eligibility for authorization under U.S. export control regulations (ITAR/EAR).

Key Responsibilities

• Design and optimize optical imaging systems in Zemax OpticStudio—from first-order layout through detailed design—meeting requirements for resolution, field of view, MTF, distortion, stray light, size, and mass.

• Design and integrate diffractive optical elements (DOEs, metasurfaces, and phase masks) alongside refractive and reflective optics, and model their performance, efficiency, and manufacturability.

• Perform sensitivity and Monte Carlo tolerance analyses, set manufacturing and alignment tolerances, and develop compensator strategies that balance performance against cost and yield.

• Integrate our Quantum Vision System with a variety of host telescopes and camera modules: model each platform’s optical prescription and interface and design the relay, reimaging, and adapter optics that match it to our system.

• Define and maintain optical and mechanical interface control documents (ICDs) for each host platform, working with opto-mechanical and electronics engineers on mounting, alignment references, and focus adjustment.

• Write optical component and system specifications and drawings (ISO 10110 or equivalent); select vendors, review quotes, and manage the procurement and incoming inspection of lenses, mirrors, filters, coatings, and diffractive elements.

• Lead hands-on assembly, alignment, and integration of imaging systems in the lab and onto host telescopes and cameras at partner and field sites, working closely with opto-mechanical engineers on mounts, fixtures, and alignment procedures.

• Develop test plans and build test setups to verify optical performance—MTF, wavefront error, focal length, distortion, PSF, stray light, and throughput—using interferometers, collimators, and camera-based metrology, and verify integrated performance on the host system (focus, boresight, and on-sky PSF and image quality).

• Correlate measured results to models, root-cause discrepancies, and drive design iterations to closure.

• Support structural-thermal-optical (STOP) analysis and environmental testing (thermal and vibration) as hardware matures toward flight qualification.

• Produce clear design documentation, test reports, and requirements traceability, and present results in design reviews.

Qualifications

Required:

• B.S. or M.S. in Optical Engineering, Optics, Physics, or a related field.

• 3-5 years of industry experience in the design, build, and test of optical imaging systems (e.g., camera systems, telescopes, or remote-sensing optics), including at least one real product taken from concept through build, test, and delivery.

• Strong proficiency in Zemax OpticStudio for sequential imaging design, optimization, and tolerancing

• Experience integrating optical instruments or payloads with telescopes or camera systems, including pupil and f-number matching, relay or reimaging optics, and interface definition.

• Working experience designing or integrating diffractive optics, and a solid understanding of diffraction, Fourier optics, and image formation.

• Proven track record taking an optical design through vendor fabrication, assembly, alignment, and performance verification.

• Hands-on experience with optical test and metrology: interferometry, MTF measurement, collimators, and image-quality analysis.

• Experience writing optical component specifications and working directly with optical fabrication and coating vendors.

• Proficiency in Python or MATLAB for data analysis, test automation, and modeling.

• Careful, organized, and safety-conscious lab habits, including laser safety awareness.

• Willingness to work on-site in Somerville, MA—this is a hardware role, and the hardware lives here. Periodic travel to telescope facilities and partner sites for integration and field testing.

• Clear technical communication—both written and verbal—and the ability to work across a small, cross-functional team.

Preferred:

• Experience delivering optics for space, defense, or aerospace programs, including thermal and vibration qualification.

• Familiarity with other optical design and simulation tools (e.g., Code V, FRED, LightTools, Lumerical, VirtualLab Fusion).

• Stray light analysis and baffle design experience.

• Familiarity with STOP analysis and athermal optical design.

• Experience with detectors and sensor characterization (e.g., CMOS/sCMOS, SWIR) and camera system integration.

• Experience with telescope instrumentation and operations, such as on-sky commissioning, mounts and tracking, or adaptive-optics-fed instruments.

• Exposure to spatial light modulators, adaptive optics, or computational imaging.

• Working knowledge of CAD (e.g., SolidWorks) for optomechanical layout and interface definition.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and stock options.

• Medical, dental and vision on 1st day.

• Company 401K match.

• Ownership in the company and seeing your hardware fly in space.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

Diffraqtion is committed to fostering an inclusive and meritocratic workplace. We provide equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, disability, genetic information, military or veteran status, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law. Diffraqtion is committed to equal opportunity for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. Applicants who need a reasonable accommodation during the application or interview process may contact careers@diffraqtion.com.

IT IS UNLAWFUL IN MASSACHUSETTS TO REQUIRE OR ADMINISTER A LIE DETECTOR TEST AS A CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT OR CONTINUED EMPLOYMENT. AN EMPLOYER WHO VIOLATES THIS LAW SHALL BE SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL PENALTIES AND CIVIL LIABILITY.