The IR Seeker Engineer is responsible for evaluating and validating EO/IR seeker performance, with a primary focus on line-of-Sight (LOS) stability, sensor noise analysis, and image quality assessment. The role involves conducting performance characterization, environmental testing, and data analysis to ensure reliable target detection, tracking accuracy, and stable seeker operation across the full range of operational condition
Responsibilities
- Performance characterization - characterizing detector and seeker performance across temperature, vibration, and dynamic operating conditions.
- Line-of-sight (LOS) stability - designing and executing tests to quantify and improve LOS jitter, boresight stability, and disturbance rejection of the stabilized platform/gimbal.
- Tracker performance - evaluating target acquisition, search-to-track handover, track-loop stability, and the accuracy of the LOS-rate / target-state outputs the seeker feeds to the guidance loop (the seeker is a closed-loop tracker, not only an imager).
- Gimbal & stabilization loops - assessing gimbal rate-loop bandwidth, slew rate, field-of-regard limits, and stabilization-loop disturbance rejection of the seeker head.
- Sensor noise analysis - measuring and modeling sensor noise (NETD, fixed-pattern noise, temporal/spatial noise, SNR) and assessing its impact on detection and tracking.
- Image quality assessment - evaluating MRTD/MTF, sharpness, uniformity, dynamic range, dead/blinking pixels, and non-uniformity correction (NUC) quality.
- FPA & imaging chain - characterizing the focal-plane array (FPA / ROIC), integration time, frame rate, well capacity, operability, and waveband (MWIR / LWIR or dual-band) performance of the imaging infrared sensor.
- Image-based tracking & aimpoint - evaluating image-based trackers (correlation, centroid, feature/edge), target segmentation, and aimpoint selection on resolved / extended targets, as used by an IIR seeker.
- Counter-countermeasures (IRCCM) - characterizing flare / IR countermeasure (IRCM) rejection and target discrimination, including imaging / spatial (and dual-band, where applicable) discrimination methods.
- Dome & aero-optical effects - quantifying boresight error slope (BSE) and the impact of dome aero-optical effects and aero-heating on tracking under flight-representative conditions.
- Detector cooling - verifying cryo-cooler cooldown time, temperature stability, and power draw as they affect platform integration.
- Environmental testing - planning and supporting thermal, vibration, shock, and altitude testing; correlating environmental stress with performance degradation.
- Data analysis - building data-reduction pipelines and analyzing test data to verify detection range, tracking accuracy, false-alarm rate, and overall seeker stability against requirements.
- Test documentation - authoring test plans, procedures, and characterization reports; defining acceptance criteria and contributing to requirement verification and traceability.
- Cross-team collaboration - working with optics, detector, electronics, control, guidance, and algorithm teams to close performance gaps and feed findings back into design and integration.
Required qualifications
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electro-Optical, Electrical, Optical, Aerospace, Physics, or a related engineering discipline.
- Solid understanding of EO/IR sensor fundamentals: infrared detectors (cooled/uncooled), optics, radiometry, and signal chains.
- Familiarity with imaging infrared (IIR) seekers: staring focal-plane arrays (FPA / ROIC), MWIR/LWIR wavebands, integration time, and frame-rate trade-offs.
- Hands-on experience characterizing imaging sensors - NETD, MTF/MRTD, SNR, uniformity, and noise measurement.
- Working knowledge of line-of-sight stabilization, gimbal/inertial stabilization concepts, and jitter measurement.
- Understanding of the seeker as a closed-loop tracking device whose LOS-rate / target-state outputs drive the missile guidance loop - not only as an imaging sensor.
- Strong data-analysis skills in Python and/or MATLAB; comfort with large test datasets and image processing.
- Experience with laboratory test equipment: blackbody sources, collimators, target projectors, vibration tables, and thermal chambers.
- Ability to write clear, rigorous test plans, procedures, and technical reports
Tools & technical environment
- Python / MATLAB
- Image and signal processing libraries
- Blackbody and collimator test benches
- Target/scene projectors
- Vibration and thermal chambers
- Oscilloscopes and spectrum analyzers
- Inertial sensors and gimbal test rigs
- HWIL / scene simulation
- Requirements-traceability and test-management tools.
Preferred qualifications
- Experience with seeker, missile, or guided-weapon EO/IR systems, or airborne targeting/surveillance sensors.
- Familiarity with detection and tracking algorithms (correlation, centroid, feature-based tracking) and their sensitivity to noise and LOS error.
- Experience with dual-band / two-color FPAs, target segmentation, and aimpoint-selection algorithms for imaging seekers.
- Experience with seeker tracker behavior, IR counter-countermeasures (IRCCM), and gimbal stabilization control loops.
- Familiarity with dome aero-optical effects, aero-heating, and boresight error slope in missile seekers.
- Knowledge of environmental and reliability standards (e.g., MIL-STD-810, MIL-STD-461) and qualification testing.
- Experience with NUC, bad-pixel replacement, and real-time image processing on FPGA/embedded platforms.
- Exposure to HWIL (hardware-in-the-loop), flight-motion simulators, and IR scene-simulation environments.
