Optics Intern: Precision Alignment for Space Beacon

overviewenergy; Ashburn (GA); On-site; USD 41,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

Overview Energy in Northern Virginia is seeking an Optics Intern to assist in the design and assembly of the ground beacon. You'll work hands-on with the emitter and the observational telescope, aligning the laser, characterizing output, and co-aligning the beacon with the telescope.

You'll develop a repeatable field alignment procedure for post-transport recalibration at the DoW site, and you will document results so engineers can incorporate findings into hardware decisions.

Qualifications

• Currently enrolled in a bachelor's or master's program in optics, optical engineering, physics, or a closely related field.
• Coursework or lab experience with optical alignment: mounts, mirrors, lenses, and beam paths.
• Willingness to complete laser safety training and follow protocol without exception.
• Careful documentation habits - alignment work is repeatable if properly recorded.
• Able to commit approximately 10 hours per week from September 2026 through March 2027, on-site in Northern Virginia

Responsibilities

• Align the beacon laser within its emitter and verify pointing outside the emitter aperture
• Characterize laser output - power, beam profile, divergence, and pointing stability - and document the results
• Co-align the beacon laser with the observational telescope and verify boresight
• Design a repeatable field alignment procedure that corrects misalignment introduced during transport and installation at the DoW site
• Write that procedure so a non-optics operator can execute it, then validate it hands-on before delivery
• Maintain clean alignment and characterization records, and feed findings back to the engineering team

Skills

Optics internship

Lab experience

Documentation

Laser safety

On-site commitment

Education

Bachelor's or Master's student in optics or related field

Tools

Beam profilers

Power meters

Autocollimators

Zemax/OpticStudio/Code V

Job description

Overview Energy in Northern Virginia is seeking an Optics Intern to assist in the design and assembly of the ground beacon. You'll work hands-on with the emitter and the observational telescope, aligning the laser, characterizing output, and co-aligning the beacon with the telescope.

You'll develop a repeatable field alignment procedure for post-transport recalibration at the DoW site, and you will document results so engineers can incorporate findings into hardware decisions.