Senior Opto-Mechanical Engineer

Relativity Space•Long Beach, CA

About The Position

Relativity Space is building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs, with their Terran R vehicle designed to meet the growing demand for launch capacity. The Interplanetary Sciences Program at Relativity Space was established to expand access to scientific exploration across our solar system, aiming to make planetary research faster, more affordable, and more capable. This program seeks to enable scientists to send instruments to distant worlds without decades of development or prohibitive costs by creating a sustainable model for interplanetary exploration. The Senior Opto-Mechanical Engineer will bridge the optical and mechanical disciplines in support of advanced optical systems for deep-space missions. This engineer will design the structures, mounts, and mechanisms that preserve optical alignment through thermal variation, launch vibration, and on-orbit gravity release. The role partners closely with the Optics Engineer on optical prescription, the Optical Communications Engineer on pointing and isolation requirements, and the Mechanical Engineer on structural and thermal analysis.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Optical Engineering, or a related field
5+ years of experience in opto-mechanical design for precision optical systems or similar
Strong understanding of opto-mechanical design principles
Proficiency in CAD modeling for optical or precision mechanical assemblies
Experience using FEA to evaluate opto-mechanical structures for gravity sag, thermal distortion, and vibration response

Nice To Haves

Working knowledge of thermal effects on optical alignment, including CTE mismatch and thermally induced distortion
Experience with space opto-mechanical hardware or environments
Familiarity with contamination-sensitive hardware, optical coatings, and material selection for optical systems
Knowledge of materials commonly used in opto-mechanical design, including aluminum alloys, stainless steel fasteners, and optics-compatible adhesives

Responsibilities

Design the structures, mounts, and mechanisms that preserve optical alignment through thermal variation, launch vibration, and on-orbit gravity release.
Partner closely with the Optics Engineer on optical prescription.
Partner closely with the Optical Communications Engineer on pointing and isolation requirements.
Partner closely with the Mechanical Engineer on structural and thermal analysis.