Senior Optical Engineer — Free-Space Navigation Systems

InvestedintheMission; Hawthorne (CA); On-site; USD 165,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Bonuses

Employee stock purchase plan

Medical, vision and dental

401(k)

Paid parental leave

Vacation time

Paid holidays

Job summary

SpaceX is seeking a Senior Optical Engineer to own free‑space optical system design, validation, and operation for a navigation sensor combining a visible camera and infrared sensing. You will set product vision at the system level, lead optics, detectors, circuit boards, precision mechanisms, and housings that must survive space environments and high production rates.

You will mentor engineers, drive architecture trades, and collaborate with manufacturing and software teams to enable automated

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in optical engineering, physics, or other engineering discipline.
• 5+ years of hands‑on optics, photonics, imaging, IR sensing, or related design/testing.
• 5+ years of experience in a programming language (e.g. C++, MATLAB, Python).

Responsibilities

• Drive product vision and system‑level architecture for a visible‑camera and IR navigation sensor.
• Apply optics and photonics knowledge to optical system development, including design, analysis, and validation.
• Define requirements for high‑performance optical/IR navigation sensors in challenging environmental conditions.
• Lead optical architecture definition through internal trade studies, concept of operations definition, and risk‑reduction testing.
• Drive detailed trades across optical, IR, mechanical, electrical, and manufacturing constraints for high‑volume production.
• Design next‑generation optical/IR sensor hardware for high‑rate manufacturing.
• Mentor optical, electrical, and systems engineers; review designs and raise the technical standard of the team.
• Interface with manufacturing and supply chain teams to ensure final designs can be manufactured in accordance with overall project goals.
• Perform and oversee verification testing, including environmental qualification, performance characterization, reliability testing, and fault‑injection testing.
• Define and lead field testing of optical experiments and navigation sensor systems.
• Review test data and lead anomaly investigation and resolution
• Own performance budgets, design specifications, and system capabilities data
• Collaborate with software and automation teams to develop tools and protocols for automated optical/IR testing
• Communicate technical direction, risks, and recommendations to program leadership

Skills

Optical design

System architecture

Mentoring

Python scripting

C++ programming

IR/visible navigation sensors

Test and verification

Communication

Education

Bachelor's in optical engineering

Master's degree in physics/engineering

PhD in physics/engineering

Tools

Zemax

Job description

SpaceX is seeking a Senior Optical Engineer to own free‑space optical system design, validation, and operation for a navigation sensor combining a visible camera and infrared sensing. You will set product vision at the system level, lead optics, detectors, circuit boards, precision mechanisms, and housings that must survive space environments and high production rates.

You will mentor engineers, drive architecture trades, and collaborate with manufacturing and software teams to enable automated