Adaptive Optics Engineer

Digantara is a leading Space Surveillance and Intelligence company focused on orbital safety and sustainability. Its integrated sensing, processing, and analytics capabilities enable detection, tracking, identification, and monitoring of Resident Space Objects across orbital regimes.

Digantara is seeking an Adaptive Optics Design Engineer to design and realize advanced optical systems for ground-based space surveillance. The engineer will work on telescope optics, adaptive optics architectures, wavefront sensing and correction, atmospheric turbulence compensation, optical alignment, image-quality optimization, and electro-optical system integration.

• Work on advanced space-surveillance technology with significant ownership of engineering outcomes.

• Develop advanced optics systems for Space Situational Awareness applications.

• Translate mission requirements into optical requirements.

• Evaluate adaptive optics architectures for atmospheric turbulence compensation, and high- resolution imaging.

• Derive adaptive optics actuator and wavefront sensor requirements.

• Design relay optics involving telescopes, wavefront sensors, deformable mirrors, tip-tilt mirrors, and detectors etc.

• Perform tolerance analysis, wavefront-error budgeting, and timing analysis.

• Define optical alignment and testing methods required for the full system integration.

• Work with controls and software teams on implementation of closed-loop AO control.

• Support laboratory integration, characterization, root-cause analysis, performance improvement, on field testing, and telescope commissioning.

• Document optical design layouts and performance details, interface specifications, tolerance budgets, BoMs, calibration procedures, and test plans.

• 5-8 years of relevant industry or research experience in optical system design, adaptive optics, or related electro-optical systems.

• Strong fundamentals in geometrical and physical optics, aberrations, wavefront sensing, atmosphere turbulence, and adaptive-optics correction.

• Demonstrated experience with Zemax OpticStudio, or equivalent optical-design software and numerical modelling using Python or MATLAB.

• Experience with turbulence simulation, closed-loop AO control, real-time processing, and aberration calibration.

• Hands-on experience with wavefront sensors, deformable or tip-tilt mirrors, scientific cameras, alignment, and laboratory characterization.

• Ability to own engineering activities from requirements through design, integration, validation, and field deployment.

• Ability to work effectively with other engineering teams.

• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and documentation skills.

• Excellent communication skills, willingness to participate in laboratory and field testing, and occasional travel as necessary.