Principal Optical Integrated Dewar Cryo Assembly (IDCA) Responsible Engineer

Northrop Grumman · United States

Northrop Grumman Space Systems is seeking a Principal Optical Engineer - 3 to serve as the seeker Integrated Dewar Cryo Assembly (IDCA) Responsible Engineer (RE) supporting the Launch Vehicles business unit in Chandler, Arizona.

You will act as the responsible engineer (RE) for the IDCA, its associated close proximity electronics (CPE), and interfaces to the system avionics. In this role, you will provide technical oversight, act as the primary vendor interface, and oversee assemblylevel integration and testing, including how the hardware interfaces at the system level across multiple programs. The ideal candidate will combine deep expertise in electrooptical/infrared (EO/IR) or cryogenic detector systems with strong leadership and organizational skills to drive crossfunctional collaboration and support critical program milestones.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the IDCA RE for the seeker subsystem, owning requirements, design, integration, and verification for the IDCA, CPE, and associated interfaces.
• Define and manage requirements for IDCA performance, thermal and mechanical environments, electrical interfaces, reliability, and maintainability, ensuring traceability to system level requirements.
• Own and maintain interface control with system avionics, including command, telemetry, power, timing, and data interfaces; lead resolution of interface discrepancies and changes.
• Coordinate with internal systems, guidance navigation and control (GNC), avionics, firmware/software, mechanical, materials, and manufacturing teams to ensure coherent system level integration and design closure.
• Work with suppliers and vendors to develop, procure, and qualify IDCA and CPE hardware; provide detailed technical feedback on designs, analyses, and manufacturing processes.
• Develop and oversee environmental and functional test campaigns for the IDCA and CPE, including thermalvacuum, vibration, shock, electrical stress, and performance characterization testing.
• Support system level performance by aiding the sensor model team in validating the IDCA/CPE model performance with measured data.
• Generate and maintain technical documentation including requirements specifications, interface control documents (ICDs), design descriptions, test plans and procedures, and verification reports.
• Manage technical risk associated with IDCA and CPE development, driving mitigation plans for performance, schedule, and producibility risks in collaboration with program management.
• Ensure that all IDCA and CPE vendor development adheres to the program requirements and follows established department command media.
• Provide technical briefings to internal and external stakeholders, including participation in design, integration, and readiness reviews at the assembly and system levels.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or a related discipline from an accredited university and 5 years of related experience; or Masters degree in a related discipline and 3 years of related experience; or PhD in a related discipline and 1 years of related experience.
• Ability to obtain a U.S. Government - Secret security clearance.
• Understanding of photon detection principles and behavior of materials like Indium Antimonide (InSb) and Type II Superlattice (T2SL)
• Understanding of cryogenic applications involving cooled focal plane arrays, including thermal management, cooldown behavior, and performance assessment in flightlike environments for aerospace, defense, or other highreliability systems.
• Demonstrated experience with system avionics interfaces, such as command/telemetry, data buses, power interfaces, and timing/control interfaces.
• Experience planning and executing environmental and functional tests (e.g., thermalvacuum, vibration, shock, electrical performance) for electronic or electromechanical assemblies.
• Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary engineering efforts, resolve complex technical issues, and communicate technical status and risks to stakeholders.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience preparing technical documentation and presenting at technical reviews.

Preferred Qualifications

• MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or related discipline.
• Active U.S. Government DoD Secret security clearance at the time of application.
• Experience serving as a responsible engineer or technical lead for IDCA, focal plane assembly, or similar cryogenic electrooptical hardware on missile, space, or other highreliability platforms.
• Previous experience with DoD missile defense or seeker programs, including familiarity with performance verification frameworks, environmental qualification, and flight test correlation.
• Handson experience with cryogenic sensor systems, including dewar design, cryocoolers, thermal management, and structural/thermal analysis for cryogenic environments.
• Familiarity with CPE design for lownoise sensor readout, including printed circuit board (PCB) design constraints, electromagnetic interference (EMI)/ electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) considerations, grounding/shielding strategies, and reliability concerns in harsh environments.
• Experience integrating sensor assemblies and electronics with flight avionics, including development and maintenance of ICDs, bus protocols, and command/telemetry implementations.
• Experience with hardware in the loop (HWIL) or system level test environments, including correlation of IDCA and CPE performance models with lab and flight data.
• Proficiency with engineering analysis and design tools.
• Demonstrated ability to drive supplier development and manufacturing process improvements for complex electromechanical or electrooptical assemblies.