Senior Optical Systems Engineer

Impulse Space • Redondo Beach, CA

1d • $155,000 - $185,000 • Onsite

About The Position

As a Senior Optical Systems Engineer, you will own the design and development of the optical head / beam director for our spacecraft laser communication terminal. Your core responsibility will be to create the telescope and pointing optics that put photons on target and collect them with diffraction-limited fidelity, even under the thermal and mechanical stresses of geostationary orbit. You will work closely with pointing control, photonics, thermal, and structures teams to ensure the optical subsystem meets its performance goals. This role offers significant autonomy – you will serve as the subject matter expert for space optical systems, driving the optical architecture from concept through prototyping, test, and flight. This is a full-time, on-site position with substantial opportunity to grow into a technical lead as the FSO team expands.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Optical Engineering, Physics, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience designing, analyzing, and testing complex optical systems (e.g. telescopes, lenses, or optical instruments).
• Proficiency with optical design/analysis software such as Zemax OpticStudio or Code V for lens/telescope.
• Strong understanding of Gaussian optics, diffraction, and wavefront error budgeting.
• Demonstrated experience building, aligning, and validating optical hardware in a lab or production environment.
• Familiarity with opto-mechanical design principles and ability to lead mechanical engineers on mounting, thermal management, and packaging of optical components.
• Proven ability to design ruggedized optical systems for harsh environments (vibration, thermal extremes)
• Excellent problem-solving skills in optics (ray tracing, aberration analysis, tolerancing). Ability to clearly document designs, write test plans, and communicate results.

Nice To Haves

• M.S. or Ph.D. in Optics, Physics, or related discipline, with a focus on optical system design or photonics.
• Experience designing space-based optical systems or flight hardware (e.g. satellite telescopes, optical payloads), including knowledge of thermal-vacuum, radiation, and launch environment constraints. Familiarity with structural-thermal-optical performance (STOP) analysis tools like SigFit for predicting optical performance under.
• Experience with fine steering mirrors or fast tip-tilt platforms for beam stabilization. Understanding of line-of-sight jitter control and ultra-fine pointing requirements (sub-micro-radian regimes).
• Proficiency with stray-light modeling or analysis (FRED or similar), and designing baffle systems or coatings to suppress stray illumination.
• Strong hands-on skills with optical metrology and test equipment – e.g. interferometers (for wavefront measurement), beam profilers, alignment telescopes, optical spectrum analyzers. Experience setting up optical test beds, long-path collimators, or vibration test fixtures for optical assemblies is a plus.
• Familiarity with laser communications or fiber-optic communication fundamentals – for example, understanding how fiber coupling, polarization, and beam quality impact link performance. Experience bridging free-space optical systems with fiber optics is beneficial.
• Self-driven and capable of leading the optical subsystem development with minimal guidance. Prior experience leading a small team or project in optical or photonic hardware development is a plus. You should be comfortable taking ownership of the optical architecture and mentoring others as needed.
• Space/aerospace experience is highly preferred (designing optics for satellites, spacecraft, or aircraft). However, candidates with strong experience in terrestrial free-space optical links or fiber-optic telecom hardware in demanding environments are also encouraged to apply – the ability to harden such systems for space is highly valued.

Responsibilities

• Design and analyze the FSO optical head (transmit/receive telescope and fine-steering mirror system) to achieve high Strehl ratio and throughput under space environment conditions. Use industry-standard optical design software (e.g. Zemax OpticStudio, Code V) to develop and optimize optical layouts, including the beam expansion optics and fast steering elements.
• Integrate opto-mechanics for space: Work closely with mechanical engineers to co-develop opto-mechanical mounts and structures, incorporating athermalization, thermal control, and vibration damping. Perform tolerance analyses for manufacturing, alignment, and thermoelastic effects to ensure the optics remain aligned and focused through launch and on-orbit thermal.
• Stray light and contamination control: Implement baffles, coatings, and stray-light analysis to minimize background noise. Establish contamination control requirements (cleanliness, purge, etc.) and design the optical system and enclosure to maintain performance in a harsh space environment (preventing fogging, pollution, etc.).
• Optical alignment and test: Develop optical alignment procedures and specify metrology tools (alignment telescopes, interferometers, wavefront sensors) needed for assembly and integration. Perform hands-on alignment and characterization of optical sub-assemblies on the bench, verifying that assembled optics meet pointing accuracy and wavefront error requirements.
• System bring-up and prototyping: Create rapid prototype optical setups (e.g. benchtop experiments with commercial optics) to validate concepts early. Later, support rigorous environmental testing (vibration, thermal-vacuum) of the flight optical hardware, analyzing test data to confirm performance and adjust the design as needed.
• Cross-team collaboration: Provide technical input on overall FSO system development from an optical perspective, such as advising on fiber-interface requirements to the photonic transceiver and pointing sensor placement. Collaborate with the Acquisition/Tracking and Photonics engineers to ensure seamless integration of the optics with control sensors and the communication payload.

Benefits

• In addition to base salary, for full-time hires, you may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of stock options, and access to medical, vision & dental coverage as well as access to a 401(k) retirement plan.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 251-500 employees