Senior Optics Engineer — Spacecraft Imaging & Optomechanics

Space Kinetic; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity-Based Compensation

PTO & Holidays

Medical, Dental and Vision Coverage

Job summary

Space Kinetic is a pioneering space technology startup hiring a Senior Optics Engineer to own design, integration, and qualification of optical and optomechanical systems for spacecraft. You will take complex optical hardware from architecture through alignment, environmental testing, and flight-ready production.

The role requires 7+ years in optical hardware, strong optics knowledge, and hands-on experience with alignment and metrology.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Optical Engineering, Physics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 7+ years of experience designing, integrating, and testing optical hardware.
• Strong understanding of geometric and wave optics, radiometry, and tolerance analysis.

Responsibilities

• Own optical and optomechanical systems from requirements through design, integration, qualification, and production.
• Design and analyze imaging, sensing, laser, infrared, or free-space optical systems using first-principles optical engineering.
• Develop prescriptions, performance models, error budgets, tolerance analyses, stray-light assessments, and system-level trade studies.
• Design and integrate lenses, detectors, mounts, baffles, windows, thermal interfaces, alignment features, and other precision optical hardware.
• Develop alignment, calibration, metrology, and automated test methods to characterize optical performance.
• Plan and execute environmental qualification, including vibration, shock, thermal-vacuum, and mission-specific testing.
• Analyze test data, diagnose performance issues, lead anomaly investigations, implement corrective design actions.
• Partner with mechanical, electrical, software, systems, manufacturing, and supplier teams to deliver flight-ready hardware.

Skills

Optical engineering

Optical design

Alignment

Calibration

Metrology

Python

MATLAB

C++

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Optical Engineering or related field

Tools

Zemax

CODE V

SolidWorks

NX

Creo

Job description

Space Kinetic is a pioneering space technology startup hiring a Senior Optics Engineer to own design, integration, and qualification of optical and optomechanical systems for spacecraft. You will take complex optical hardware from architecture through alignment, environmental testing, and flight-ready production.

The role requires 7+ years in optical hardware, strong optics knowledge, and hands-on experience with alignment and metrology.