Spacex Employment – Sr. Optical Engineer

Job Description:

As a senior engineer on the Space Lasers team, you will be responsible for laser communication system design, validation, and operation. You will define the laser communication system baseline for multiple company programs. You will build a reliable, efficient, high-data-rate laser communication system by leading optical system design and verification.

Job Responsibilities:

• Represent laser communications systems for reliability and risk discussions with internal reliability teams, management, customers, and vendors
• Apply optics and photonics knowledge to laser communication system development, including design, analysis, and validation
• Lead laser communication architecture definition through internal trade studies, concept of operations definition, and risk reduction testing
• Define requirements for high-data-rate laser communication systems in challenging environments
• Collaborate with software and automation teams to develop test and production scripts and tools
• Develop test plans and define test systems
• Review test data and lead anomaly investigation and resolution
• Interface with manufacturing and supply chain teams to ensure final designs can be produced in accordance with overall project goals
• Represent the laser communications system in program-level, cross-disciplinary trades and issue resolution
• Participate in validation testing, including environmental qualification, performance characterization, reliability testing, and fault injection testing
• Maintain link budgets, design specifications, and system capabilities data

Job Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in physics or an engineering discipline
• 5+ years of experience in optics, photonics, laser technology, or precision mechanical design or testing
• Experience with hardware development for high-reliability applications
• Competence with optical test equipment (power meters, interferometer, laser sources)
• Ability to assess risk and make design and development decisions without all available data
• Master’s degree or PhD in physics or an engineering discipline
• Experience with pointing, acquisition, and tracking
• Competence with Python scripting and a Linux operating system environment
• Knowledge of and experience in free-space optical principles, optical component testing/troubleshooting techniques, precision metrology techniques, manufacturing and integration processes
• 1+ years of experience in a technical leadership position
• Experience with infrared system alignment and characterization
• Knowledge of and experience in lasers, photodiodes, fiber optics, optics testing/troubleshooting techniques, and signal integrity principles
• Experience leading development of commercial communications products
• Experience with thermal, vacuum, and vibration test equipment
• 3+ years of experience in a computer programming language (e.g. C++, LabVIEW, and/or Python)
• Proficiency with optical analysis tools such as Zemax

Job Details:

Company: SpaceX

Vacancy Type: Full Time

Job Location: Redmond, WA, US

Application Deadline: N/A

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