Optical Manufacturing Engineer

The role

You will act as the bridge between optical design and the production floor. You will develop manufacturing processes, design tooling, and create work instructions for space-qualified optical subsystems and telescopes.

What you will do

• Provide DFX guidance on optics, optomechanical mounts, and integrated electro-optical hardware
• Develop manufacturing and assembly processes for space-qualified optical subsystems and large aperture telescopes
• Design alignment fixtures, bonding and handling tooling, and ground support equipment
• Support evaluation and selection of optical fabrication, assembly, and metrology equipment
• Develop in-process inspections, optical metrology, and end-of-line test methods
• Create and maintain work instructions, travelers, and procedures in the MES
• Lead root cause analysis and corrective action for nonconformances on optical builds
• Support integration of optical assemblies with electromechanical interfaces
• Develop subassembly build flow and iterate to create efficient production flow
• Support environmental acceptance and qualification test campaigns

Required qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical, optical mechanical, aero space, or other relevant engineering discipline
• 3+ years of experience in a high volume, rapid production environment in a manufacturing, integration, and/or design engineering role
• Demonstrated results with product development and/or process improvements
• Experience setting up a manufacturing/production floor for first article builds
• Experience designing and implementing technologies for avionics subassembly manufacturing including wire harness manufacturing and PCBA/mechanical enclosure assembly
• Experience providing DFX guidance on optomechanical designs
• Ability to read and review mechanical and optical drawings, including GD&T and optical tolerance callouts
• Familiarity with optical metrology equipment such as interferometers, autocollimators, theodolites, laser trackers, and power meters
• Experience working with FOD, ESD-sensitive hardware, cleanroom requirements, and optical cleaning methods and solvents
• Familiarity with industry standards governing optical components and assemblies

Nice to have

• Proficiency with CAD software (NX or equivalent)
• Familiarity with optical design and analysis tools (e.g., Zemax, Ansys) and STOP analysis outputs
• Experience working with MES to set up the foundation for procedure creation and documenting non-conformances
• Deep working knowledge of optical, contamination control, materials, and workmanship standards
• Experience with high-volume optics manufacturing and test
• Experience with optical fabrication techniques such as single-point diamond turning
• Experience with reflective telescope architectures
• Experience conducting environmental acceptance and qualification test campaigns
• Experience with wavefront optimization through alignment
• Experience with optical fiber handling and processing

Benefits

• Paid time off
• Medical/dental/vision coverage
• Life insurance
• Paid parental leave

Before you apply

• Must be a U.S. person as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.15 or otherwise eligible for a federally issued export control license

About the company

K2 is building the largest and highest-power satellites ever flown. They are mass-producing high-power satellite platforms for missions from LEO to deep space.