Optical Engineer (Aerospace)

Location: Los Angeles, CA, United States

Base salary: $110,000–$200,000 per year, plus equity.

Company

hirify.global develops and operates high-power satellite platforms and optical payloads for missions spanning low Earth orbit, geostationary orbit, cislunar space, and deep space.

What you will do

• Own defined optical engineering deliverables from problem definition through documented and validated results.
• Build, align, calibrate, automate, and maintain free-space and fiber-optic test systems, including hardware-in-the-loop infrastructure.
• Plan experiments to characterize optical components and assemblies, identify performance-degradation mechanisms, and assess end-to-end system impact.
• Develop optical models, performance budgets, tolerance analyses, and data-processing tools, then translate results into requirements and design changes.
• Design, procure, and validate custom optics, optomechanical components, calibration hardware, fixtures, and test equipment.
• Develop repeatable optical fabrication and assembly processes and support environmental qualification, payload integration, flight readiness, and on-orbit commissioning.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in optical engineering, physics, applied physics, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• At least 1 year of relevant experience; internships, co-ops, academic research, student engineering teams, and substantial personal projects count.
• Working knowledge of geometrical and physical optics.
• Familiarity with free-space optical, fiber-optic, and optomechanical components.
• Must be a U.S. person under ITAR regulations or otherwise eligible for a federally issued export-control license.

Nice to have

• Hands-on experience building, aligning, testing, or troubleshooting optical setups.
• Experience with Python, MATLAB, LabVIEW, or similar tools for data analysis, image processing, simulation, or laboratory automation.
• Experience with optical design tools, detectors, focal-plane arrays, radiometry, optical calibration, lasers, integrated photonics, or specialty fibers.
• Experience with precision optomechanics, CAD, manufacturing-process development, environmental testing, or contamination control.

Culture & Benefits

• Work on high-power satellite platforms and optical payloads for commercial and government space missions.
• Exposure to the full optical-system lifecycle, from analysis and risk reduction through manufacturing, ground testing, and on-orbit operation.
• Paid time off and comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Life insurance, paid parental leave, equity, and additional benefits.