Optomechanical Engineer I — Space Optics & Instruments

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Pasadena (CA); On-site; USD 109,000 - 124,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, vision plans

Retirement plans

Paid time off

Flexible schedule

Parental leave

Job summary

Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California seeks an Optomechanical Engineer I to lead the development of precision optical instruments. You will own hardware from concept through assembly and alignment, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams across spaceflight, airborne, and ground-based projects.

You should have a mechanical or optical engineering background with CAD/FEA experience and hands-on alignment skills.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, optical engineering or related field, with 1 year of related experience.
• Experience with CAD tools (NX or SolidWorks) and mechanical drawings.
• Hands-on hardware integration and optical alignment knowledge.
• Team leadership experience across multidisciplinary projects.

Responsibilities

• Own optomechanical hardware through full lifecycle from design to precision alignment.
• Lead multidisciplinary teams delivering subsystems meeting requirements, cost, and schedule constraints.
• Use CAD tools to design instrument parts and GSE, including optics and mounts.
• Conduct structural FEA and STOP analyses.
• Support integration and test activities including precision alignment and environmental qualification.

Skills

CAD Tools

FEM/STOP analysis

Python/MATLAB

Optomechanical alignment

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in mechanical/optical engineering

Master's degree in related field

Tools

NX or SolidWorks

Zemax CodeV

NASTRAN

Job description

Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California seeks an Optomechanical Engineer I to lead the development of precision optical instruments. You will own hardware from concept through assembly and alignment, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams across spaceflight, airborne, and ground-based projects.

You should have a mechanical or optical engineering background with CAD/FEA experience and hands-on alignment skills.