Senior Optical Designer / Analyst - Space Communications

We are seeking a Senior Optical Designer and Analyst to join our growing optical engineering team developing next-generation free space optical systems for spacecraft and ground terminals. This role is perfect for engineers with strong optical design fundamentals, excellent technical judgment, and a proven track record of delivering real hardware solutions.

As a Senior Optical Designer, you will lead the design, modeling, and analysis of free space optical systems for high-bandwidth space communication links. Your responsibilities will include producing conceptual designs, building detailed optical models, performing tolerance analysis, and supporting the integration of optical subsystems into spacecraft or ground-based platforms.

Key responsibilities include leading the conceptualization and simulation of free space optical systems using tools such as Zemax to optimize performance parameters including wavefront error, radiometric efficiency, manufacturing tolerances, and optical alignment sensitivity. You will model free space propagation, far field behavior, and fiber coupling efficiency while collaborating closely with mechanical, electrical, software, and controls engineering teams.

The role involves significant systems integration work, ensuring optical performance is maintained under thermal, vibrational, and operational loads. You will participate in Structural Thermal Optical Performance analysis to validate system robustness and support prototyping, alignment, and lab testing of optical components and assemblies.

We are looking for candidates with typically more than six years of experience, though exceptional individuals with three to five years and strong research or PhD backgrounds may be considered. The ideal candidate demonstrates commitment and career progression while maintaining enthusiasm for building innovative optical communication systems at scale.

This is a senior individual contributor role offering significant autonomy and technical ownership, working with a team that values engineers who can transform ambiguous technical problems into structured optical architectures and actionable design decisions.