Optical Engineer - Pointing, Acquisition & Tracking (PAT) Optics

Star Catcher•Jacksonville, FL

About The Position

Star Catcher is building the first energy grid in space, using wireless energy beaming to power spacecraft through their existing solar panels. The Optical Engineer will support development of space-to-space power-beaming spacecraft and the Star Catcher Network, an orbital power grid. This role is based with Star Catcher Industries, Inc. in Jacksonville, Florida. The engineer will design the optical architecture and tracking-sensor optics for the pointing, acquisition, and tracking (PAT) system; develop and close line-of-sight pointing and jitter budgets; define boresight alignment and calibration approaches; specify and select optical components; model sensor response; and support the optical side of closed PAT loops. The role also plans and performs optical testing on testbeds and integrated hardware, collaborating with controls engineers on sensor requirements and loop design.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Optical Engineering, Physics, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
At least 3 years of professional experience in pointing and tracking, beam control, or free-space laser systems.
Deep understanding of PAT for free-space laser systems, including acquisition, coarse and fine pointing, and tracking.
Hands-on experience with fast steering mirrors, quadrant detectors or position-sensing detectors, and focal-plane tracking sensors.
Ability to build line-of-sight pointing and jitter budgets, including noise-equivalent angle, residual jitter, boresight drift, and calibration error.
Proficiency with Zemax OpticStudio or CODE V and Python or MATLAB modeling.
Working knowledge of control concepts, including bandwidth, disturbance rejection, and sensor noise, sufficient to collaborate effectively with controls engineers.
Laboratory experience building and testing closed-loop tracking systems.

Nice To Haves

Additional professional experience beyond the 3-year minimum.
Flight or flight-like optical terminals or beam-control systems in space laser communications or beam control.
Experience tracking non-cooperative targets using reflected or scattered returns rather than a beacon.
Experience calibrating transmit/receive co-alignment over temperature and on orbit.
Experience with integrated structural-dynamics-to-line-of-sight jitter modeling.
Master’s degree or Ph.D. in Optical Sciences, Physics, or Electrical Engineering.

Responsibilities

Design the PAT system’s optical architecture, including fast steering mirrors, tracking sensors, beam splitters, boresight paths, and calibration sources; co-own PAT interfaces with the EE Senior Controls (PAT) engineer.
Develop line-of-sight pointing and jitter budgets, allocate them among optical, mechanical, sensor, and control contributors, and track budget closure through testing.
Design tracking-sensor optics for acquisition and fine tracking, including return-based tracking of non-cooperative targets with unknown surface reflectance and orientation.
Define transmit/receive boresight alignment, calibration, and on-orbit boresight maintenance approaches, including point-ahead where applicable.
Specify and select fast steering mirrors and coarse-pointing optics, and define pupil conjugation, angular range, and optical gain through the beam expander.
Model tracking-sensor response, including spot size, linear range, sensitivity, and noise-equivalent angle, and collaborate with controls engineers on loop design and sensor requirements.
Measure and calibrate optical closed-loop PAT parameters, including tracking-sensor slope, FSM-to-sensor gain, and axis cross-coupling; support loop closure on testbeds and integrated hardware.
Plan and conduct PAT optical testing, including closed-loop tracking testbeds, disturbance and jitter injection, and boresight verification.