Production Engineer – Infrared Sensors & Cameras

Our client is a scale-up company specializing in the design and manufacturing of high-performance infrared sensors and camera systems. Operating at the intersection of photonics, precision engineering, and defense/security technology. The company is rapidly growing its production capacity. As the company scales, the Production Engineering team is driving key initiatives around industrialization, automation, and quality assurance — the kind of R&D-adjacent engineering challenges where top-tier consultants make a real difference. Your Role You will embed in the Production Engineering team and take ownership of one or more technical projects aimed at scaling and optimizing the manufacturing of infrared optical systems. You work in a high-precision, regulated environment and bridge the gap between R&D and series production. Key Responsibilities - Industrialization: Translate R&D processes into robust, repeatable production processes for infrared sensor and camera assemblies. - Capacity scaling: Analyse current production flows, identify bottlenecks, and implement improvements to increase throughput. - Automation: Define and implement automation solutions for assembly, testing, or inspection steps — from concept through deployment. - Quality assurance: Design and implement process controls, inspection methods, and statistical monitoring (SPC) to ensure consistent product quality. - Clean room operations: Develop and maintain process procedures for assembly and testing in controlled environments (ISO class clean rooms). - Optical distortion testing (pilot project): Define, set up and industrialize an optical distortion measurement process for IR camera assemblies. This includes selecting the test methodology (reference grid, MTF, wavefront), building or integrating the test bench, automating measurement and analysis in Python, and establishing pass/fail criteria for series production. - Data & reporting: Use Python scripts and data tools to monitor production KPIs, analyse yield, and support root cause investigations. - Cross-functional collaboration: Work closely with R&D, quality, and supply chain teams; document processes and transfer knowledge to operators and technicians. Profile / Requirements : Education & background Master in Industrial Engineering, Electronics, Electromechanical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent by experience. Affinity with production environments — you are comfortable on the shop floor and in the lab alike. Technical expertise Strong process engineering mindset: structured, data-driven, root-cause oriented. Experience with or strong interest in optical systems, photonics, or precision mechanics (infrared optics is a plus). Affinity with semiconductor or electronics manufacturing: detector assemblies, PCB/hybrid electronics, wire bonding, or microelectronic packaging. Familiar with clean room protocols and manufacturing in a controlled environment (ESD, contamination control, ISO class requirements). Python programming for data analysis, test automation, or process monitoring (pandas, numpy, matplotlib or similar). Knowledge of industrialization methodologies: PFMEA, control plans, PPAP, lean manufacturing, SPC. Soft skills Hands-on and proactive — you don't wait for problems to come to you. You walk the floor, spot what's broken, and fix it. Change driver: you are not a consultant who writes reports. You make things happen — you implement, you convince, you follow through. Technically versatile: comfortable switching between process engineering, data analysis, equipment troubleshooting, and automation — whatever the situation calls for. Structured and autonomous — you define your own approach and deliver without hand-holding. Clear communicator: you translate technical findings into decisions, not slide decks. Pragmatic: you balance engineering rigour with the speed a scale-up demands. Nice to Have Experience with infrared detectors, SWIR/MWIR/LWIR optics, or thermal imaging systems. Background in semiconductor manufacturing (wafer processing, detector fab, epitaxy, packaging) or electronics production (SMT, hybrid assemblies). Background in defense, aerospace, or medical device manufacturing (quality culture, traceability requirements). Familiarity with machine vision or automated optical inspection (AOI). Experience with ERP/MES systems in a production context. Knowledge of IPC standards or other assembly quality standards. What Makes This Interesting Work at the frontier of photonics and defense technology — products that matter. High autonomy and real impact in a fast-moving scale-up environment. Hands-on engineering role with visibility at VP level. Possibility of long-term collaboration as the project portfolio grows.