Contemporary automotive market demand has led to a wealth of new applications requiring strong performance in cost-effective optical systems. Requirements for these systems require modern software capability for both optical design and engineering. This article presents a discussion of optical design and analysis for a quality automotive head-up display (HUD) system using Lambda Research Corporation’s Optics Software for Layout and Optimization (OSLO) and TracePro, available through the Altair Partner Alliance. These products are designed to work in tandem to effectively solve a wide array of problems in optics.