Senior Photonics Electrical Engineer — Hybrid Space Optics

Wheel the World; California (MO); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity opportunities

Flexible work environment

Unlimited PTO

Health coverage

Cutting-edge tools

Mission-driven culture

Inclusive team

Job summary

Observable Space is seeking an Electrical Engineer, Photonics to design, integrate, and validate photonic and electro‑optical subsystems for ground‑based and space payloads. You will own electrical interfaces, detector and laser interfaces, and high‑speed data chains across challenging environments.

You will work closely with optical, mechanical, and software teams to ensure reliable, high‑performance systems.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• 5+ years of experience in electrical engineering focusing on photonics, electro-optical systems, or high-performance sensor design.
• Strong proficiency in analog and mixed-signal circuit design for low-noise and high-speed applications.
• Experience designing and debugging PCBs, including schematic capture, layout collaboration, and board bring-up.
• Hands-on experience with photodetectors, imaging sensors, or optical instrumentation and their signal chains.
• Experience with high-speed interfaces and data acquisition systems used in imaging or sensing applications.
• Strong understanding of signal integrity, grounding, shielding, and power distribution in sensitive systems.
• Experience using lab instrumentation such as oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, and signal generators to debug complex systems.
• Ability to read and interpret schematics, debug at the electrical level, and work closely with cross-functional teams.
• Comfortable working in fast-paced, iterative hardware environments with rapid design-build-test cycles.
• Strong product mindset with emphasis on reliability, robustness, and performance in real-world conditions.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop electrical systems for photonic and electro-optical subsystems, including detectors, sensors, laser interfaces, and high-speed data acquisition chains.
• Own schematic capture, PCB design, and bring-up for low-noise analog and mixed-signal circuits supporting optical instrumentation.
• Develop and optimize signal chains for photodetectors, including amplification, filtering, digitization, and noise mitigation.
• Design for signal integrity and low-noise performance in high-sensitivity optical systems, including grounding and shielding strategies.
• Bring up and validate high-speed interfaces such as MIPI, LVDS, JESD, or similar data links.
• Collaborate with optical engineers to define electrical interfaces and performance requirements across assemblies.
• Support integration and test of electro-optical systems with lab characterization and calibration.
• Develop and execute validation plans for hardware operating in harsh environments (thermal-vacuum, vibration).
• Select components and materials for space/high-reliability use including radiation effects and long-term stability.
• Contribute to system architecture decisions balancing performance, power, bandwidth, and reliability across the product stack.
• Participate in design reviews to ensure manufacturability and testability of photonic systems.

Skills

Analog and mixed-signal design

PCB design

High-speed data acquisition

Signal integrity

Laboratory instrumentation

Schematic capture

MIPI/LVDS interfaces

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical / Aerospace Engineering

Tools

Oscilloscopes

Spectrum analyzers

Signal generators

PCB design tools

Lab instrumentation

Job description

Observable Space is seeking an Electrical Engineer, Photonics to design, integrate, and validate photonic and electro‑optical subsystems for ground‑based and space payloads. You will own electrical interfaces, detector and laser interfaces, and high‑speed data chains across challenging environments.

You will work closely with optical, mechanical, and software teams to ensure reliable, high‑performance systems.