Optics Intern
About The Position
Overview Energy is seeking an Optics Intern to assist in the design and construction of their ground beacon, a critical component for their satellite energy infrastructure. The intern will work on aligning and characterizing the laser emitter and observational telescope, ensuring the beacon's accuracy. This role involves hands-on optical alignment, data documentation, and developing procedures for field alignment. The internship supports a Department of War energy investment program, with the intern's work directly influencing hardware decisions. The position is based in Northern Virginia and runs from September 2026 to March 2027, requiring approximately 10 hours per week.
Requirements
- Currently enrolled in a bachelor's or master's program in optics, optical engineering, physics, or a closely related field
- Coursework or lab experience with optical alignment: mounts, mirrors, lenses, and beam paths
- Willingness to complete laser safety training and follow protocol without exception
- Careful documentation habits - alignment work is only useful if it's repeatable by someone else
- Able to commit approximately 10 hours per week from September 2026 through March 2027, on-site in Northern Virginia
- U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.
Nice To Haves
- Hands-on use of beam profilers, power meters, autocollimators, or shear plates
- Telescope operation or astronomical instrumentation experience
- Zemax OpticStudio, Quadoa, Code V, or comparable optical design and analysis software
- Experience writing test or alignment procedures that other people have actually followed
- Demonstrated interest in defense, space, or energy applications
Responsibilities
- Align the beacon laser within its emitter and verify pointing outside the emitter aperture
- Characterize laser output - power, beam profile, divergence, and pointing stability - and document the results
- Co-align the beacon laser with the observational telescope and verify boresight
- Design a repeatable field alignment procedure that corrects misalignment introduced during transport and installation at the DoW site
- Write that procedure so a non-optics operator can execute it, then validate it hands-on before delivery
- Maintain clean alignment and characterization records, and feed findings back to the engineering team
Benefits
- Paid internship
- Mentorship directly by engineers running the program
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Part-time
Career Level
Intern
Education Level
No Education Listed
