Optical Engineer

Optical Engineer

Los Angeles, CA

K2 is building the largest and highest-power satellites ever flown, unlocking performance levels previously out of reach across every orbit. Backed by over $1 billion in total funding from leading investors including Altimeter Capital, ICONIQ, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Redpoint Ventures, and T. Rowe Price — and with over $1 billion in signed contracts across commercial and US government customers, we're mass-producing the highest-power satellite platforms ever built for missions from LEO to deep space.

The rise of heavy-lift launch vehicles is shifting the industry from an era of mass constraint to one of mass abundance, and we believe this new era demands a fundamentally different class of spacecraft. Engineered to survive the harshest radiation environments and to fully capitalize on today's and tomorrow's massive rockets, K2 satellites deliver unmatched capability at constellation scale and across multiple orbits.

With multiple launches in 2027 and plans to scale to 100 satellites a year, we're Building Bigger — helping develop the solar system and build toward a Kardashev Type II (K2) civilization. If you are a motivated individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment and you're excited about contributing to the success of a high-growth Series D-funded company, we'd love for you to apply.

The Role

K2's ambitions extend beyond the satellite bus. By designing and operating our own spacecraft and regularly manifesting hardware to orbit, K2 is uniquely positioned to develop, test, and deploy ambitious optical payloads across MEO, GEO, cislunar, and deep space on unprecedented timelines. The satellite bus is the platform – the payloads are the mission.

Any number of space-based optical payloads can generate value here on Earth (ex. forest fire detection, climate and atmospheric monitoring, etc.) and further planetary science in our solar system (ex. hyper-spectral imaging, laser-altimetry) -- all of which require custom optical hardware, simulations, manufacturing processes, and test infrastructure.

As an Optical Engineer, you will contribute to a payload portfolio that spans specialty-fiber lasers and photonic systems, 0.1 – 1 meter-class diffraction-limited telescopes, focal-plane instrumentation, and compact free-space assemblies that shape, split, steer, and detect light behind a telescope. You will work closely with senior and principal engineers while gaining exposure to the full lifecycle of an optical system, from initial analysis and risk reduction through manufacturing, ground testing, and on-orbit operation.

The development timelines and manufacturing scale that we are targeting require meaningful innovation, but you will have the resources and full support of K2 to make this possible and help raise the bar for the next generation of space technology companies.

Responsibilities

• Own well-bounded technical deliverables from problem definition through documented, validated results. Examples include a custom optical component or fixture, a data visualization or analysis, a test campaign, a manufacturing process, or a small optical assembly.
• Build, align, calibrate, automate, and maintain custom free-space and fiber-optic test systems, including optics-intensive hardware-in-the-loop infrastructure.
• Plan and execute experiments that characterize optical components and assemblies, isolate performance-degradation mechanisms, and quantify their effect on end-to-end system performance.
• Develop optical models, performance budgets, tolerance analyses, and data-processing tools; correlate predictions with test results and translate findings into requirements, design changes, and recommended performance margins.
• Design, specify, procure, and validate custom optics, optomechanical components, calibration hardware, fixtures, and test equipment.
• Develop and qualify repeatable optical fabrication and assembly processes for high volume production, including fiber splicing, adhesive bonding, alignment, cleaning, inspection, and test.
• Support environmental qualification, reliability testing, payload integration, flight-readiness activities, and on-orbit commissioning. Troubleshoot anomalies and help drive root-cause-based hardware or process changes.
• Communicate technical work through design reviews, test plans and reports, drawings, specifications, procedures, and configuration-controlled data.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in optical engineering, physics, applied physics, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 1+ years of relevant experience. Internships, co-ops, academic research, student engineering teams, and substantial personal projects count toward this requirement.
• Working knowledge of geometrical and physical optics and familiarity with common free-space optical, fiber-optic, and optomechanical components.

Nice to Have

• Hands-on experience building, aligning, testing, or troubleshooting an optical setup through industry, research, coursework, or independent projects.
• Ability to navigate optical-vendor catalogs, select appropriate commercial components, and explain the technical basis for those selections.
• Experience using Python, MATLAB, LabVIEW, or a similar environment for technical data analysis, image processing, simulation, or laboratory automation.
• Strong technical communication skills and the ability to explain assumptions, evidence, uncertainty, failures, and proposed next steps.
• Familiarity with optical design or analysis tools such as OpticStudio, CODE V, FRED, LightTools, Lumerical, or equivalent software.
• Experience with detectors or focal-plane arrays, quantitative image processing, radiometry, optical calibration, or noise analysis.
• Experience with precision optomechanics, CAD, optical mechanisms, lasers, integrated photonics, or specialty fibers.
• Exposure to manufacturing-process development, measurement uncertainty, environmental testing, contamination control, or the failure modes of hardware in space environments.
• Curiosity, sound engineering judgment, and a demonstrated ability to make independent progress on unfamiliar technical problems.

Compensation and Benefits:

• Base salary range for this role is $110,000 - $200,000 + equity in the company
• Salary will be based on several factors including, but not limited to: knowledge and skills, education, and experience level
• Comprehensive benefits package including paid time off, medical/dental/vision coverage, life insurance, paid parental leave, and many other perks

If you don't meet 100% of the preferred skills and experience, we encourage you to still apply! Building a spacecraft unlike any other requires a team unlike any other and non-traditional career twists and turns are encouraged!

If you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know.

Export Compliance

As defined in the ITAR, "U.S. Persons" include U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (i.e., Green Card holders), and certain protected individuals (e.g., refugees/asylees, American Samoans). Please consult with a knowledgeable advisor if you are unsure whether you are a "U.S. Person."

The person hired for this role will have access to information and items controlled by U.S. export control regulations, including the export control regulations outlined in the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR). The person hired for this role must therefore either be a "U.S. person" as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.15 or otherwise eligible for a federally issued export control license.

Equal Opportunity

K2 Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with K2 Space is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.