Role highlights

Optical Engineer

Location: Warsaw, Poland

Department: Engineering /Optical Systems

Reports to: Optical Metrology and Test Lead

Employment type: Permanent

Workplace model: Hybrid (on a weekly basis)

Employment is subject to applicable security screening (incl. SUPO, where required)

Why this role matters

As Optical Engineer, you will prove that ICEYE's next generation of spaceborne imaging systems performs as designed. Working side by side with the optical design and AIT teams, you will build the test methods, set-ups and measurement strategies that verify optical performance at every stage, from individual components, through alignment, to complete system ready for qualification. Your data will feed straight back into design decisions, closing the loop on the trade-offs between optical design and detector performance, and giving the team the confidence to take on more ambitious optical systems.

Who We Are

ICEYE is the world leader in sovereign intelligence from space. We deliver persistent monitoring capabilities to detect and respond to changes in any location on Earth.

ICEYE owns the world's largest and most advanced SAR (synthetic aperture radar) satellite constellation. To our customers we provide intelligence with unmatched quality, latency and revisit times, in any weather, day or night. To governments who choose to operate their own constellation we provide this proven capability as a sovereign system.

ICEYE-built constellations serve customers in defence and intelligence, environmental monitoring, insurance and emergency management. We enable fast decisions that contribute to a safer future.

Founded and headquartered in Finland, ICEYE operates globally with over 1000 employees across Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.

Your day-to-day responsibilities

Define and own the optical test and metrology strategy for the team's imaging systems, subassemblies, alignment, integration and qualification.

Design, build and maintain optical test set-ups, such as interferometric benches, MTF and image quality measurement, detector characterization benches.

Measure and verify the performance of optical systems against requirements (wavefront error, MTF, focus, distortion, boresight, radiometric response, stray light).

Support precision alignment and assembly with metrology, including dimensional measurement, tolerance verification and alignment of optics.

Plan and run environmental qualification testing (for example thermal vacuum, vibration and thermal cycling) with optical performance checks before, during and after, and analyse the results.

Develop automated test and analysis software to acquire, process and report measurement data, with traceable calibration and documented measurement uncertainty.

Turn test results into clear findings for optical designers and system engineers, so that measured performance shapes current and future designs.

Write test procedures, reports and verification evidence, and lead investigations into non-conformances together with suppliers and internal teams.

What we’re looking for

Must haves

Experience in testing imaging optics, ideally cameras, telescopes and other precision imaging systems, across the product lifecycle from manufacturing and quality control through assembly, alignment and qualification.

Knowledge of optical measurement techniques, such as interferometry, wavefront measurements, MTF and image quality evaluation, and the set-ups behind them.

Knowledge of the detector side of the system, including focal plane and detector assemblies, and how detector performance is characterized.

Strong skills in instrument control and data analysis (for example Python or MATLAB), with a bias towards automating measurements.

Solid understanding of calibration, traceability and measurement uncertainty, and the ability to judge how far a result can be trusted.

Clear technical writing and communication, and a collaborative approach to working with design and systems engineers every day.

Nice to haves

Experience testing space-qualified hardware, including environmental qualification such as thermal vacuum, vibration and thermal cycling.