Opto-mechanical Engineer

Foundational; Greater London; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

EMI share options (UK employees)

25 Days Annual Leave + Bank Holidays

Enhanced Parental Leave

Cycle to work schemes

Offices in central London

Job summary

Foundational in London is seeking an Opto-mechanical Engineer to design precision mounts, benches and enclosures for telescope optics. The role is full-time and on-site, supporting unattended stations in remote environments.

You will perform thermal and structural analyses, drive tolerances, and work with workshop and suppliers from drawings to finished parts. Experience with CAD, GD&T, and hands-on alignment is essential.

Qualifications

• Experience in opto-mechanical design.
• Proficient CAD skills with tolerance analysis and GD&T.
• Ability to interpret drawings and manufacturing standards.
• Thermal and structural analysis experience.

Responsibilities

• Design mounts, benches and enclosures for telescope-mounted and bench optics.
• Own alignment concepts, and the fixtures and procedures used to set alignment.
• Run thermal and structural analysis on optical assemblies, and feed the results into tolerances.
• Design for manufacture, assembly and field servicing.
• Work with the workshop and suppliers from drawing to finished part.

Skills

Opto-mechanical design

GD&T

Drawing standards

Thermal/structural FEA

Hands-on alignment

Tools

SolidWorks

Onshape

FEA software

Job description

Opto-mechanical Engineer

This is a future role. We're building a shortlist now and will contact you when it opens.

About us

Foundational is building the most precise picture of Earth and orbit, using lasers fired from the ground. We call it ground truth for orbit.

We design and run low-cost, autonomous satellite laser ranging stations. They measure the distance to satellites with extreme precision, day and night. Our data platform turns those measurements into tracking data and orbit products for satellite operators, space agencies and governments. We also build our own flight-proven laser retroreflector arrays, so any satellite can be tracked.

Our station network is expanding across Europe, South America, Africa and Australia. The data supports resilient navigation, Earth observation and the safe, sustainable use of space.

We're a small, fast-moving team of engineers, scientists and operators in London. We're backed by venture investors and supported by ESA, the UK Space Agency, Innovate UK and the European Innovation Council.

Position Overview

London · Full time · On-site

You'll design the structures that hold our optics still and aligned while stations run unattended in remote, harsh environments.

What you’ll do

• Design mounts, benches and enclosures for telescope-mounted and bench optics
• Own alignment concepts, and the fixtures and procedures used to set alignment
• Run thermal and structural analysis on optical assemblies, and feed the results into tolerances
• Design for manufacture, assembly and field servicing
• Work with the workshop and suppliers from drawing to finished part

What you’ll bring

• Experience in opto-mechanical design
• CAD skills (SolidWorks, Onshape or similar), plus GD&T and drawing standards
• Thermal and structural FEA experience
• Hands-on build and alignment experience

Nice to have

• Telescope or observatory hardware
• Environmental testing
• Outdoor enclosures and weather sealing
• Space or defence programmes

What We Offer

• A high-impact role with real ownership at an early-stage, venture-backed spacetech company
• EMI share options (UK employees)
• 25 Days Annual Leave + Bank Holidays
• Enhanced Parental Leave
• Cycle to work schemes
• Work alongside engineers and scientists across optics, lasers, software and astrodynamics
• Offices in central London, with snacks, tea, coffee and regular socials

We actively champion underrepresented groups and seek to bridge gaps in our workforce. Building the best team is our priority.