Principal Optical Systems Engineer

K2 Space • Los Angeles, CA

19h

About The Position

K2 is developing ambitious optical payloads for space missions, ranging from Earth observation to planetary science. This role involves contributing to the design, manufacturing, testing, and deployment of optics benches for a suite of optical payloads. The position requires innovation and offers resources to advance space technology. The engineer will be involved in all phases of the optical system's life cycle, from initial feasibility studies to on-orbit commissioning, with a focus on high-volume manufacturing and ambitious development timelines.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in physics, optics, computer science, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, or a related technical field.
• 8+ years of experience in the design, manufacture, and test of optical systems.
• Experience designing and deploying optical systems at every phase of the product life cycle (requirements generation, design, analysis, tolerance, procure, build, align, test, deploy, operate).

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with high-volume manufacturing – broad knowledge of manufacturing techniques, design for manufacturability, supply chain management, and productionization of assembly and test processes.
• Experience with optical mechanisms – specifying their requirements, knowledge of feedback and actuation methods, basic controls analysis, quantifying mechanism error, and system-level testing.
• Deep knowledge of electro-optical sensing technologies (i.e., focal plane arrays, photodiodes, etc.) – their non-idealities, noise mechanisms, and mitigations, testing and characterization, and practical implementation / system integration details.
• Experience conducting experimental research, data analysis, and visualizing esoteric datasets.
• Understanding of the failure modes of electrical, mechanical, and optical systems in space environment.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for delivering the system architecture, SNR budget, and system-specific modeling (e.g., stray light, fiber coupling).
• Responsible for detailed optical design and tolerancing.
• Responsible for the development plan (risk reduction timeline, division of labor, test strategy).
• Responsible for environmental qualification and reliability testing.
• Responsible for technical leadership of vendors and external partners, including component qualification, supply-chain development, and transition to volume manufacturing.
• Responsible for laboratory characterization, system-level validation, mission readiness, and on-orbit commissioning plan for optical benches for a suite of high-volume optical payloads operating in the UV / VIS / NIR / SWIR / MWIR / LWIR.
• Collaborate with the optical and satellite bus teams to determine feasibility and optimal system requirements for optical payloads.
• Prepare design reviews for your optical system to get stakeholder buy-in and communicate expectations to the hardware, software, test, and manufacturing teams.
• Forecast staffing needs, define roles, and interview candidates to ensure the optical payloads team is staffed appropriately to deliver on schedule.
• Mentor the engineers supporting you to make them more capable and autonomous in the realm of optical system development in the future – scoping work, providing feedback throughout, and reviewing and signing off on the quality of their work.
• Responsible for the evaluation and selection of manufacturing equipment and working with the production team to develop a factory layout, work instructions, in-process checkouts, and end-of-line tests to ensure successful builds for in-house fabrication and assembly.

Benefits

• Base salary range for this role is $190,000 - $280,000 + equity in the company
• Comprehensive benefits package including paid time off, medical/dental/vision coverage, life insurance, paid parental leave, and many other perks

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal