Space Optical Engineer, Payloads & Testing

K2 Space; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/dental/vision benefits

Paid parental leave

Equity

Job summary

K2 Space is seeking an Optical Engineer in Torrance, California to design and operate optical payloads for high-power satellite platforms. You will work with senior engineers to develop, test, and deploy optical systems spanning fiber and free-space optics, from concept through on-orbit operations.

You’ll build and validate test setups, run experiments, and create models and data-processing tools to support mission goals.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in optical engineering, physics, applied physics, EE, ME, aerospace engineering, or related field or equivalent practical experience.
• 1+ years of relevant experience. Internships, co-ops, academic research, student teams counted.
• Working knowledge of geometrical and physical optics; familiar with free-space/fiber-optic components.

Responsibilities

• Own well-bounded technical deliverables from problem definition through validated results.
• Build, align, calibrate, automate, and maintain custom free-space and fiber-optic test systems.
• Plan and execute experiments to characterize optical components and assemblies and quantify performance.
• Develop optical models, performance budgets, tolerance analyses, and data-processing tools.
• Design, specify, procure, and validate custom optics, optomechanical components, fixtures, and test equipment.
• Develop and qualify repeatable optical fabrication and assembly processes for high-volume production.
• Support environmental qualification, reliability testing, payload integration, and on-orbit commissioning; troubleshoot anomalies.
• Communicate technical work through design reviews, test plans, and documentation.

Skills

1+ year exp

Geometrical optics

Physical optics

Optical modeling

Education

Bachelor’s degree in optical engineering

Job description

K2 Space is seeking an Optical Engineer in Torrance, California to design and operate optical payloads for high-power satellite platforms. You will work with senior engineers to develop, test, and deploy optical systems spanning fiber and free-space optics, from concept through on-orbit operations.

You’ll build and validate test setups, run experiments, and create models and data-processing tools to support mission goals.