Principal Mechanisms Engineer

K2 Space Corporation; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 175,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in the company

Paid time off

Medical/Dental/Vision coverage

Life insurance

Paid parental leave

Job summary

K2 Space Corporation in Los Angeles seeks a Principal Mechanisms Engineer to design and analyze optical payload systems for space applications. This role involves collaboration with cross-functional teams, oversight of CAD assemblies, and preparation of design reviews for stakeholder buy-in. A bachelor's degree in a relevant engineering discipline is required alongside 8+ years of hands-on experience in optomechanics and mechanical design. The compensation package includes a salary range of $175,000 - $200,000 plus equity and comprehensive benefits.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of hands-on laboratory or work experience in optomechanics.
• Deep experience with CAD and FEA software packages.
• Minimum 3+ years of experience with programming languages.

Responsibilities

• Design and tolerancing for optical payload systems.
• Collaborate on requirements with optical and satellite teams.
• Prepare design reviews for mechanisms.

Skills

Optomechanics

Mechanical Design

Electrical Design

CAD software

Programming (Python, C++ etc.)

Education

Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, aerospace, or relevant engineering discipline

Tools

NX

Simcenter

FEMAP

Hypermesh

Job description

Principal Mechanisms Engineer

Responsibilities

• Design and tolerancing.
• Line‑of‑sight error budgeting and stabilization analysis.
• Environmental test and qualification plan.
• Supply chain and high‑volume manufacturing plans.
• Ground‑ and in‑flight performance validation plans for coarse pointing assemblies supporting large‑aperture (0.1 m‑1 m diameter) optical payloads.
• Collaborate with the optical and satellite bus teams to determine the optimal set of requirements for optical payload coarse pointing assemblies.
• Own the top‑level CAD assembly for the optical payloads that you work on and work closely with the satellite structures team to determine optimal placement on the bus.
• Prepare design reviews for your mechanisms to get stakeholder buy‑in and communicate expectations to the other hardware, software, test, and manufacturing teams.
• Continually own and refine program deliverables and associated schedules throughout development and production.
• Responsible for the evaluation and selection of manufacturing equipment for specialty processes.
• Partner with production to develop work instructions, in‑process checkouts, and end‑of‑line tests that ensure successful builds.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, aerospace, or other relevant engineering discipline.
• 8+ years of hands‑on laboratory or work experience in optomechanics, electromechanical mechanisms, or electrical/mechanical design and testing.
• Deep experience with CAD and FEA software packages (e.g., NX, Simcenter, FEMAP, and/or Hypermesh).
• Minimum 3+ years of experience working with one or more computer programming languages (e.g., Python, Rust, C++, and/or MATLAB).

Nice to Have

• Experience with precision optical mechanisms — specifying requirements, trading gimbal / head‑mirror / nested coarse‑fine architectures, quantifying mechanism error, and validating pointing performance at the system level.
• Deep knowledge of 2‑axis gimbal design for space applications, including bearing selection and preload, structural design, drive mechanisms, angular run‑out, and long‑life operation in vacuum.
• Experience closing line‑of‑sight performance budgets through analysis, controls integration, and test — including structural dynamics, tolerance stack‑up, jitter analysis, pointing calibration, and environmental qualification.
• Familiarity with precision actuation, sensing, and control technologies for space mechanisms, including encoders, resolvers, gyros / IMUs, and feedforward / closed‑loop control approaches.
• Experience designing harness routing, cable wraps, slip rings, and other cable‑management approaches for continuously or widely rotating mechanisms, including routing optical fibers through moving axes while managing bend radius, strain relief, and pointing disturbance.
• Experience leading mechanism hardware through the full product life cycle: requirements generation, architecture trades, detailed design, prototype builds, assembly / integration / test, productionizing, and flight validation.
• Experience contributing to spacecraft‑level alignment and calibration planning for optical pointing mechanisms, including coordination with optical, GNC, and systems teams to relate mechanism reference frames to payload, spacecraft, and star‑tracker coordinate systems.
• Experience with NASA‑STD‑5017, SMC‑S‑016, and GSFC‑STD‑7000 for the design and qualification of in‑space Moving Mechanism Assemblies.

Compensation and Benefits

• Base salary range for this role is $175,000 - $200,000 + equity in the company.
• Salary and level will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, knowledge and skills, education, and experience level.
• Comprehensive benefits package including paid time off, medical/dental/vision coverage, life insurance, paid parental leave, and many other perks.

Equal Opportunity

K2 Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with K2 Space is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Export Compliance

As defined in the ITAR, “U.S. Persons” include U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (i.e. Green Card holders), and certain protected individuals (e.g., refugees/asylees, American Samoans). Please consult a knowledgeable advisor if you are unsure whether you are a “U.S. Person.” The person hired for this role will have access to information and items controlled by U.S. export control regulations, including the export control regulations outlined in the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR). The person hired for this role must therefore either be a “U.S. person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. 120.15, or otherwise be eligible for a federally issued export control license.