ELECTRO-OPTICAL SYSTEMS DESIGN System Lead / System Architect

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced System Lead / System Architect to lead the system definition, architecture, and end-to-end technical integration of a optical communication system.

The System Lead will own the overall system architecture and technical definition, translating operational and customer requirements into system-level requirements, functional architecture, interfaces, performance budgets, and verification objectives.

The role will lead three major subsystem disciplines:

1. Optical Subsystem
2. Transmit & Receive Subsystem
3. Digital Subsystem

HW PCB design shall be provided by hw group.

Integration team may be also an external team to this team.

The System Lead will be responsible for ensuring that these disciplines operate as an integrated system, with clear interfaces, optimized end-to-end performance, and alignment with program objectives.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end system architecture and technical baseline. 
• System Architecture - Define system requirements, functional decomposition, operational scenarios, and system modes.
• Establish and maintain system performance budgets, including link budget, power, data rate, latency, timing, pointing, thermal, and SWaP considerations.
• Define subsystem boundaries, interfaces, dependencies, and allocation of requirements.
• Lead technical trade-offs between system performance, cost, schedule, complexity, and risk.
• Lead the system design reviews and technical decision-making process.
• Drive end-to-end integration between optical, RF/Tx-Rx, digital, mechanical, power, software, and other relevant disciplines.
• Define system-level verification and validation strategy and ensure requirements are objectively verifiable.
• Identify system-level technical risks, bottlenecks, and performance gaps and drive their resolution.
• Maintain a clear system-level view, while providing technical direction to the subsystem leads.

Required Qualifications

• M.Sc. Or higher in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Physics, or a related field.
• 12+ years of experience in complex multidisciplinary systems.
• Proven experience in system engineering, system architecture, or technical leadership.
• Strong understanding of communication systems and end-to-end signal chains.
• Experience working across multiple engineering disciplines, including hardware, RF, digital, optics, software, and control.
• Experience defining system requirements, interfaces, budgets, and verification plans.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
• Experience leading technical teams and driving decisions across organizational boundaries.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to communicate complex technical concepts to both engineering teams and senior management.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with optical/laser communications or electro-optical systems.
• Experience with satellite, aerospace, defense, or high-reliability communication systems. must
• Knowledge of Pointing, Acquisition and Tracking (PAT) systems. preferred
• Experience with optical or RF link-budget analysis. preferred
• Knowledge of FPGA-based digital communication systems. must
• Experience with high-speed ADC/DAC, DSP, modem, FEC, synchronization, and clocking architectures. must
• Experience with spacecraft systems, satellite communications, or inter-satellite links. preferred
• Experience with system simulation, modeling, and hardware-in-the-loop validation. must 

Leadership Profile

The successful candidate is expected to be a technical system owner, capable of moving between high-level architecture and detailed engineering discussions.

The role requires someone who can:

• See the complete system rather than an individual subsystem.
• Define the right questions and drive technical closure.
• Challenge subsystem assumptions when they negatively affect end-to-end performance.
• Balance theoretical performance with real-world implementation constraints.
• Build alignment between multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Make architecture decisions based on quantitative analysis and system-level trade-offs.
• Lead the organization from requirements → architecture → design → integration → qualification.