Lead Space Optical Communications Engineer

Vantor is forging the new frontier of spatial intelligence, helping decision makers and operators navigate what’s happening now and shape what’s coming next. Vantor is a place for problem solvers, changemakers, and go-getters—where people are working together to help our customers see the world differently, and in doing so, be seen differently. Come be part of a mission, not just a job, where you can: Shape your own future, build the next big thing, and change the world. To be eligible for this position, you must be a U.S. Person, defined as a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, Asylee, or Refugee. Export Control/ITAR: Certain roles may be subject to U.S. export control laws, requiring U.S. person status as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3). Please review the job details below. Our SpaceWrx team is responsible for developing advanced space systems that enable resilient, high-performance communications architectures for next-generation commercial, civil, and national security missions. We are seeking an experienced Space-Based Comms Systems Engineer to lead the evaluation, integration, and technical oversight of mainly spacecraft optical communications solutions. This role will serve as a key technical authority across optical terminal selection, link performance analysis, vendor engagement, and system-level architecture development. You Will Work At The Intersection Of Spacecraft optical communications Systems engineering and architecture development Vendor management and hardware procurement Mission performance analysis Cross-functional spacecraft integration The ideal candidate understands not only the optical communications subsystem itself, but also how it interacts with the broader spacecraft architecture and mission objectives. This individual will provide technical leadership from early trade studies through deployment and operational readiness. What you’ll do day-to-day Lead the evaluation, selection, and integration of spacecraft optical communications systems for mission-critical space programs. Develop and maintain optical communications trade studies, requirements analyses, and hardware down-selection efforts. Build and maintain detailed optical link budgets, including acquisition, tracking, pointing, atmospheric effects, distance-dependent losses, and system performance margins. Analyze end-to-end communications performance and recommend architecture improvements across spacecraft, ground, and network segments. Assess optical terminal capabilities, data rates, acquisition strategies, modulation approaches, and operational concepts to ensure mission success. Serve as the primary technical interface with optical communications vendors, evaluating product offerings and ensuring alignment with program requirements. Guide vendor engagements throughout the product lifecycle, including technical reviews, design assessments, manufacturing oversight, and delivery planning. Interact and collaborate with optical comm and RF cross-link service providers to evaluate the applicability of their offerings Monitor supplier manufacturing, integration, testing, and qualification activities to ensure schedule, quality, and technical objectives are achieved. Collaborate with spacecraft, avionics, communications, mission operations, payload, and systems engineering teams to develop optimized end-to-end solutions. Identify technical risks, performance limitations, and integration challenges while developing mitigation strategies. Support system architecture development and provide recommendations on upstream and downstream subsystem impacts. Contribute to customer engagements, technical reviews, and proposal activities as a subject matter expert in optical communications. Minimum Requirements For This Position Must be a U.S. citizen and possess, or have the ability to obtain, a U.S. Government TS/SCI security clearance. Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Physics, or a related technical discipline. 5+ years of experience in the Aerospace industry – 2+ years of developing, integrating, or supporting spacecraft optical communications systems. Strong understanding of spacecraft optical communications principles, including: Link acquisition and tracking Pointing, acquisition, and tracking (PAT) systems Optical link budget development Data rate and bandwidth calculations Distance-dependent losses and performance modeling End-to-end communications architecture Experience conducting technical trade studies and hardware down-selection efforts. Experience with spacecraft optical communications AI&T campaigns and deploying into full operations Experience developing and maintaining system-level performance analyses and link budgets. Demonstrated ability to evaluate vendor technologies and manage technical relationships with suppliers and manufacturers. Experience overseeing hardware development, manufacturing, testing, and qualification activities. Experience setting up, executing tests, and analyzing data-chain testbeds leveraging optical terminals Strong systems engineering mindset with the ability to understand subsystem interactions and mission-level impacts. Excellent communication skills and proven ability to collaborate across multidisciplinary engineering teams. Ability to operate independently and drive technically complex initiatives with minimal oversight. These skills would be amazing Experience supporting optical communications systems for commercial, civil, and national security missions. Familiarity with optical terminal integration into spacecraft avionics and communications architectures. Experience in designing spacecraft RF cross-links Experience with ground station integration and end-to-end communications network analysis. Experience supporting design reviews, requirements verification, and mission readiness activities. Knowledge of emerging optical communications standards, architectures, and industry trends. Active U.S. Government security clearance. Your Career We are very serious about professional development and continuing education at Vantor. We offer our team members the opportunity to define their own career trajectory – you will have the opportunity to own mission critical components within the system. Our group has amazing resources to support learning and development, internally and externally with education support. You will be part of a transformational architecture that will ensure Vantor continues to be the GeoInt leader for the next 15+ years. Pay Transparency: To support pay transparency, Vantor includes salary ranges in all U.S. job postings. Starting pay for this role will fall within the listed range and will be based on factors such as experience, qualifications, skills, location, and market conditions. Candidates who meet the minimum requirements for the role should not expect to receive compensation at the top of the range. The listed range reflects the expected pay for this position, and final offers will be determined based on each candidate’s experience, expertise, and alignment with the role. The base pay for this position within Colorado is: $124,000.00 - $165,000.00 - $181,500.00 annually. For all other states, we use geographic cost of labor as an input to develop market-driven ranges for our roles, and as such, each location where we hire may have a different range. Benefits: Vantor offers a competitive total rewards package that goes beyond the standard, including a robust 401(k) with company match, mental health resources, and unique perks like student loan repayment assistance, adoption reimbursement and pet insurance to support all aspects of your life. You can find more information on our benefits at: Additionally, this position is incentive eligible with a target based on contribution, company performance, and/or individual results achieved; the specific incentive plan and target amount will be determined based on the role and breadth of contributions. The application window is three days from the date the job is posted and will remain posted until a qualified candidate has been identified for hire. If the job is reposted regardless of reason, it will remain posted three days from the date the job is reposted and will remain reposted until a qualified candidate has been identified for hire. The date of posting can be found on Vantor's Career page at the top of each job posting. To apply, submit your application via Vantor's Career page. EEO Policy: Vantor is an equal opportunity employer committed to an inclusive workplace. We believe in fostering an environment where all team members feel respected, valued, and encouraged to share their ideas. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, protected veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law. #J-18808-Ljbffr Vantor