Optomechanical Engineer III

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

1d•$152,880 - $188,448•Onsite

About The Position

The Instruments and Communications Division at JPL is renowned for developing and integrating advanced technologies for flight sensors, instruments, and deep space communications, covering the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Their expertise includes quantum technology, flight systems, spectrometers, radars, mass spectrometers, and various optical and RF systems. They also pioneer novel material systems, fabrication techniques, deep space communication theory, and navigational tracking. The Optics & Spectroscopy Section specifically focuses on developing advanced ground and space-based optical systems, including research and development of optics-related technologies, system architecture, optical system design, opto-mechanical design, analysis, implementation, hardware integration, alignment, testing, and calibration. This role is within the Optics & Spectroscopy Section, specifically in the Optomechanical Engineering group (364F), which develops and implements precision structures for optical instruments for spaceflight, airborne, ground, and testbed systems. Applications include large-aperture telescopes, UV to IR spectrometers, coronagraph components, and detector packaging.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, optical engineering, or related technical field with a minimum of 6 years of hands-on hardware experience; Master’s degree in similar fields with a minimum of 4 years of related work experience; or Ph.D. in a similar field with a minimum of 2 years of related work experience in an area related to mechanical and/or optical engineering.
Experience with CAD tools (e.g., NX or SolidWorks) and mechanical drawings.
Experience with analytical approaches (e.g., first-principles hand calculations, tolerance stackup analyses, FEA, STOP, and scripting languages).
Hands-on experience and practical knowledge in hardware integration, optical alignment, state-of-the-art measurement techniques.
Team leadership experience, especially with multidisciplinary teams over multiple phases in the project lifecycle.
Able to obtain an TS/SCI clearance or willingness to obtain a TS/SCI clearance.

Nice To Haves

Experience with technical contract management (CTM) for vendors of complex optical and mechanical hardware.
Experience developing hardware from concept to flight.
Advanced knowledge of materials and processes (M&P; e.g., metallurgy or adhesive bonding).
Experience defining subsystem requirements, verification plans, and presenting at lifecycle reviews (e.g., preliminary and critical design reviews; PDR and CDR).
Experience with NASTRAN FEA software or a similar analysis package.
Experience with Zemax Optics Studio or CodeV optical design software tools.
Experience with Python or MATLAB programming languages, for both data analysis and instrumentation automation tasks

Responsibilities

Own optomechanical hardware through its full lifecycle, including design, analysis, review, procurement, assembly, integration, and precision alignment
Lead multidisciplinary teams and deliver subsystems or instruments that meet technical requirements, cost constraints, and schedule commitments
Use CAD tools to design precision spaceflight instrument parts (including optics and kinematic mounts), airborne instrument parts, and/or ground support equipment (GSE)
Conduct structural finite element analysis (FEA) and structural-thermal-optical performance (STOP) analysis
Support integration and test (I&T) activities including precision alignment and environmental qualification