Optomechanical Engineer I — Space Optics & Alignment

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory; California; On-site; USD 109,000 - 124,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Retirement plans

Paid time off

Flexible schedule

Learning opportunities

Job summary

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, seeks an Optomechanical Engineer I to lead design, analysis, and integration of precision optical instruments for spaceflight and ground tests.

You will own optomechanical hardware through its lifecycle, run FEA/STOP analyses, and guide multidisciplinary teams to meet stringent requirements, schedules, and budgets. Strong CAD skills and hands-on alignment experience are essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, optical engineering, or related technical field with a minimum of 1 year of related work experience; Master's degree in similar fields with a minimum of 0 years of related work experience.
• Experience with CAD tools (e.g., NX or SolidWorks) and mechanical drawings
• Experience with analytical approaches (e.g., first-principles hand calculations, tolerance stackup analyses, FEA, STOP, and scripting languages)
• Hands-on experience and practical knowledge in hardware integration, optical alignment, state-of-the-art measurement techniques
• Team leadership experience, especially with multidisciplinary teams over multiple phases in the project lifecycle

Responsibilities

• Own optomechanical hardware through its full lifecycle, including design, analysis, review, procurement, assembly, integration, and precision alignment
• Lead multidisciplinary teams and deliver subsystems or instruments that meet technical requirements, cost constraints, and schedule commitments
• Use CAD tools to design precision spaceflight instrument parts (including optics and kinematic mounts), airborne instrument parts, and/or ground support equipment (GSE)
• Conduct structural finite element analysis (FEA) and structural-thermal-optical performance (STOP) analysis
• Support integration and test (I&T) activities including precision alignment and environmental qualification

Skills

Team leadership

Analytical methods

Hardware integration

Python/MATLAB

Multidisciplinary collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical/Optical Engineering

Master's degree in Mechanical/Optical Engineering

Tools

NX

SolidWorks

Zemax

CodeV

Job description

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, seeks an Optomechanical Engineer I to lead design, analysis, and integration of precision optical instruments for spaceflight and ground tests.

You will own optomechanical hardware through its lifecycle, run FEA/STOP analyses, and guide multidisciplinary teams to meet stringent requirements, schedules, and budgets. Strong CAD skills and hands-on alignment experience are essential.