Senior Optomechanical Engineer — Spaceflight Payloads

Segment (Twilio); Pasadena (CA); On-site; USD 125,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Top-tier medical coverage

Dental and vision insurance

Paid vacation and sick leave

Company 401(k) with match

Job summary

Rocket Lab Pasadena seeks a Senior Optomechanical Engineer I/II to lead mechanical design for optical payloads and precision mechanisms. You will translate program needs into robust opto‑mechanical architectures, drive designs through reviews, fabrication, alignment, environmental tests, and flight delivery.

The role emphasizes hands‑on engineering, tolerance analysis, STOP analysis, and collaboration with cross‑functional teams to ensure manufacturability and reliability in a fast‑paced

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, aerospace, optical, mechatronics, robotics, or other engineering discipline.
• 5+ years of mechanical engineering experience.
• Experience delivering spaceflight hardware from concept through build, integration, test, qualification, and flight delivery.
• Experience designing precision mechanical hardware, opto‑mechanical assemblies, mechanisms, and sensor systems.
• Experience performing or leading structural‑thermal‑optical performance analysis, thermal‑elastic analysis, or equivalent analyses.
• Hands‑on experience supporting hardware integration, troubleshooting, inspection, and alignment.
• SolidWorks CAD modeling, production drawing creation, GD&T, and design documentation.

Responsibilities

• Lead opto‑mechanical and precision mechanical design projects from scope through verification.
• Own opto‑mechanical hardware through its full lifecycle including design, procurement, assembly and flight delivery.
• Collaborate with electrical, software, manufacturing and test teams to develop practical build‑ready mechanical solutions.
• Develop hardware for camera systems, optical payloads, sensor assemblies and mounts.
• Design precision mechanisms and alignment tooling for spaceflight hardware.
• Create tooling and ground support equipment for assembly, testing and production.
• Mentor junior engineers and help establish design standards for Rocket Lab Robotics hardware.

Skills

Opto‑mechanical design

SolidWorks

Tolerance analysis

STOP analysis

Spaceflight hardware delivery

Cross‑functional collaboration

Engineering calculations

Education

Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, aerospace, optical, mechatronics, robotics, or other engineering

Master’s or PhD in mechanical, aerospace, optical, mechatronics, robotics, or other engineering

Tools

SolidWorks CAD modeling

Production drawings

GD&T

Job description

Rocket Lab Pasadena seeks a Senior Optomechanical Engineer I/II to lead mechanical design for optical payloads and precision mechanisms. You will translate program needs into robust opto‑mechanical architectures, drive designs through reviews, fabrication, alignment, environmental tests, and flight delivery.

The role emphasizes hands‑on engineering, tolerance analysis, STOP analysis, and collaboration with cross‑functional teams to ensure manufacturability and reliability in a fast‑paced