Missions

Assigned full-time to the Optics Department of the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille (LAM), the optics research engineer will be involved in the development of optical instruments for ground-based or space-based astrophysics. In particular, the person selected will be responsible for designing, analyzing and implementing the optical systems that form the basis of these instruments in the various phases of their development. He will work in collaboration with researchers and engineers in the context of international consortia.
The research engineer will also be involved in measurements and analyses of optical components as part of the POLARIS technology platform.
Contract duration: 1 year, renewable.

Activities

The selected candidate will be integrated into LAM's optics department. He will participate in laboratory projects as Optical Architecture Manager, Systems Engineer or Product Manager. He will design, optimize, calculate/analyze and build the optical systems at the heart of the instruments, in collaboration with the teams of engineers and instrument technicians in the various fields. He will play an important role in the interface between the scientific and instrumental teams, translating the scientific needs of astronomers into instrumental requirements and concepts.
As part of the POLARIS platform, the engineer will participate in or lead optical measurement campaigns (wavefront measurements, microscopy, spectrophotometry). He will implement or improve existing analysis tools or develop new ones, particularly in the context of rapidly evolving optical manufacturing methods, which raise new analysis and specification issues.

Skills

KNOWHOW :
- Engineering techniques and sciences with in-depth knowledge of geometric optics, physics and instrumentation
- High angular resolution and modern instrumentation for large telescopes
- Tools and software specific to the field: design (Zemax, ...), modeling (Python, ...)
- Optical performance modeling
- Instrumentation and analysis of optical measurements
- Systems engineering
- Project management
- Professional environment and networks
- Good writing and teaching skills
- English language: B2 (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages)

OPERATIONAL SKILLS :
- Anticipate functional and technical developments
- Manage a project
- Manage / lead a team
- Lead a meeting
- Conduct negotiations
- Manage a budget
- Apply public procurement regulations
- Monitor market trends
- Apply quality assurance procedures
- Apply health and safety rules

Diploma required: Engineering degree or doctorate.

Work Context

The LAM (Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille, CNRS/AMU/CNES) is recognized as one of the leading astrophysics laboratories in France and worldwide. It develops ground- and space-based instruments for space agencies (CNES, ESA, NASA, etc.) and major observatories (ESO, Gemini, Subaru, etc.) as part of international collaborations, drawing on its expertise in optics, mechanics and cryogenics as well as its two platforms, POLARIS, for optical manufacturing and metrology, and SPATIAL, for integration and space qualification. Its instrumental achievements include the NISP instrument for Euclid, ESA's flagship project in the galaxy/distant universe theme of the Cosmic Vision program launched in July 2023, and fibered multi-object spectrographs for Subaru's PFS instrument in Hawaii, as well as super-polished mirrors for the CGI instrument for the Roman Space Telescope (NASA), the IRDIS camera/spectrograph for VLT-SPHERE (ESO) and the OSIRIS-NAC high-resolution camera for Rosetta (ESA).
This activity is part of the historical continuity of the Observatoire de Marseille and the Laboratoire d'Astronomie Spatial, decades of optical instrumentation developments for astronomy, spectroscopy in particular. Several innovative, and now classic, concepts have been developed here, such as the white pupil spectrograph and integral field spectrographs such as the image slicers used for the MUSE instrument at the VLT (ESO) and the HARMONI instrument at the ELT (ESO). LAM engineers designed and developed the Fourier transform spectrometer for the SPIRE instrument (ESA's Herschel space telescope) and the arrays for the FUSE (NASA), Galex (NASA) and Euclid (ESA) satellites.
Today, the laboratory is heavily involved in instruments for the ELT, the Extremely Large Telescope, currently under construction in Chile by the European Southern Observatories, ESO. With a diameter of 39m, it will be the largest optical telescope ever built. In this context, we are in charge of developing the adaptive optics systems for the HARMONI integral field spectrograph, and the infrared spectrographs for the MOSAIC fiber-fed multi-object spectrograph.
The LAM is also involved in studies for space missions such as HWO, NASA's future large observatory, and PRIMA, the far-infrared telescope also under development by NASA. We are involved in the preliminary study of a large ground-based telescope, WST, for spectrographic surveys, a candidate for ESO's post-ELT developments, as well as the development of an ultra-fast telescope, PROVIDENCE, planned for installation on the Observatoire de Haute Provence site. We are also proposing a very high-resolution telescope for ESA's RAMSES mission, which will take a close look at a near-Earth object as it passes by in April 2029.

THE OPTICS DEPARTMENT
The LAM's Optics Department brings together a wide range of skills related to optics, including the architecture and design of optical systems, assembly, integration and testing (AIT) of optical instruments, optical measurements (spectrophotometry, interferometry, microscopy, etc.) and optical manufacturing. Its staff are also involved in system studies and project management. Its mission is to participate in the development of major astronomical instruments, on the ground and in space, as well as in R&D initiatives, by providing expertise in the field of optics. This mission is strategic for LAM's scientific ambitions and competitiveness. A major part of these skills is provided by research engineers in optics, who are able to make proposals and master all stages of instrument development, from design and detailed analysis to verification tests and calibration.

Constraints and risks

Travel in France and abroad to be foreseen.