Optical Engineer — Space Payloads & Test Systems

K2Spacecorporation; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Paid time off

Comprehensive medical/dental/vision

Job summary

K2 Space seeks an Optical Engineer to design, test, and deploy high-power optical payloads for space missions. You will develop optical components, calibrate systems, and collaborate across engineering teams to ensure robust performance from ground tests to on-orbit operations.

Role emphasizes modeling, tolerances, and data-driven design decisions, with exposure to production-scale fabrication and integration activities. Strong communication and problem-solving are essential for mission success.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in optical engineering, physics, or related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 1+ years of relevant experience.
• Working knowledge of geometrical and physical optics and familiarity with free-space and fiber-optic components.

Responsibilities

• Own technical deliverables from problem definition to validated results (custom optical components, fixtures, data analysis).
• Build, align, calibrate, automate, and maintain free-space and fiber-optic test systems.
• Plan and execute experiments to characterize components and quantify performance impacts.
• Develop optical models, budgets, tolerance analyses, and data-processing tools; translate to design changes.
• Design, procure, validate custom optics and calibration hardware; ensure repeatability for production.

Skills

Geometrical optics

Free-space optics

Fiber-optic components

Optomechanics

Python

MATLAB

Education

Bachelor’s degree in optical engineering or related field

Tools

OpticStudio

CODE V

FRED

LightTools

Lumerical

Job description

K2 Space seeks an Optical Engineer to design, test, and deploy high-power optical payloads for space missions. You will develop optical components, calibrate systems, and collaborate across engineering teams to ensure robust performance from ground tests to on-orbit operations.

Role emphasizes modeling, tolerances, and data-driven design decisions, with exposure to production-scale fabrication and integration activities. Strong communication and problem-solving are essential for mission success.