Lead Optical Analysis Engineer

Albedo•Denver, CO

3d•$192,586 - $211,844•Onsite

About The Position

Albedo is making Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) mainstream, building the infrastructure to usher every satellite mission set into this new orbital domain. We build buses, integrated satellites, and turnkey missions for customers to thrive in VLEO, between 200 km - 400 km, where proximity compounds performance & drag self-cleans debris. As part of the first 100 employees at Albedo, you will have a big impact on Albedoâs trajectory to proliferating VLEO â whether youâre advancing hardware to increase satellite longevity, scaling production for large constellations, building next-gen flight and ground software to push performance, or enabling missions that matter for national security and our day-to-day life here on earth. How We Operate: Albedo takes a first-principles approach â in space and in business. We move with speed, take calculated risks, and learn quickly. We use AI regularly to create leverage in every discipline across the company. We work in-person at our Broomfield CO HQ to maximize team & company productivity. We work hard & with urgency to compound our first-mover advantage. Who We're Looking For: Builders who want to own outcomes, not tasks. Systems thinkers who balance precision with iteration while thinking about the big picture. Individuals who are energized by creating a category rather than competing in an existing one. Youâll join a team that has already proven what others said wasnât feasible and is now scaling & upgrading our VLEO buses & payloads to serve mission sets across sensing, communications, and responsive operations. If you can feel the excitement running through your veins, apply to be one of the Bedo 100.

Requirements

5-10+ years of experience working optical system analysis and optimization
Familiarity with various optical design and analysis software tools
Deep understanding of optical sensitivities, aberrations and what effects them in mechanical design/implementation
Experience with WFE budgets, allocation and budget management
Experience with STOP modeling and the iterative, multi-disciplinary process
Hands on experience optimizing optical systems to reduce aberrations and WFE
Regularly uses AI tools as essential leverage to accelerate work, improve clarity, and multiply output
US CITIZENSHIP IS REQUIRED

Responsibilities

Responsible for optical modeling and sensitivity analysis
Converting all low-level wavefront error (WFE) contributions of opto-mechanical design into WFE budget. Working with the opto-mech designers to map the non-perfect aspects of their designs into rms WFE space from mechanical space including thermal-structural dynamics. Identify terms we cannot quantify at various levels of assembly and determine impact/path forward to ensure design closes with integration.
Responsible for set-up optical analysis results of structural-thermal-optical performance analysis (STOP) with inputs from thermal and structural engineering
Responsible for interpretation and analysis of STOP results to and sensitivity analysis to determine next steps in design iteration
Work with team to understand details of design causing results and iterate to optimize the design
Obscuration analysis for opto-mechanical design and as-built
Line of Sight sensitivity matrix analysis for opto-mechanical design and as-built
Field Angle Map (distortion) analysis for opto-mechanical design and as-built
Develop and perform Monte Carlo WFE prediction from current RSS WFE prediction
Manage WFE budget as design progresses to re-allocate terms which can and cannot meet original allocation
Responsibly recommend re-allocation of WFE margin as design matures
Create optical performance merit function(s) for existing system design
WFE accounting for the 1g ground test âmission" and associated uncertainty, each of the different major alignment step missions, and the post-environmental test mission, in addition to the normal 0g mission
Produce overall predicted system WFE maps, and in working with alignment lead engineer, including step-by-step expectations per alignment plan â Including 1g to 0g analytical prediction
Analyze AIT environmental impacts to alignment measurement error