Optical-Mechanical Engineer

Spire Global is a space-to-cloud analytics company that owns and operates one of the largest multi-purpose constellations of satellites. Its proprietary data and algorithms provide the most advanced maritime, aviation, and weather tracking in the world. In addition to its constellation, Spire’s data infrastructure includes a global ground station network and 24/7 operations that provide real-time global coverage of every point on Earth.

The Optical Team is looking for a dynamic and proactive Opto-Mechanical Engineer with 

relevant experience in optical design and optical assembly and testing of space-borne opto-mechanical systems. 

As an Opto-Mechanical Engineer at Spire, you will be part of a team focused on delivering the next generation of Optical Inter Satellite Link terminals that will help to improve the latency of our satellite constellation.

Responsibilities of your role:

• Own the assembly, alignment, and testing of the next generation of optical terminals.
• Work closely with the mechanical and electronic design teams to ensure that the next release of optical terminals follows good engineering and manufacturability practices.
• Be intimately familiar with all high- and low-level opto-mechanical design details of the optical payloads.
• Locate the root cause of test failures during the payload manufacturing process and deploy the necessary fixes when this is possible.
• Actively participate in the optical payload qualification process. This involves: designing and documenting the qualification process, running the actual qualification tests, reporting the results in written form and, when tests fail, communicating the issues to the design and management teams.
• For all terminals manufactured, perform component-level and module-level tests at the early stages of the payload manufacturing, up to satellite-level tests at the latest stages of satellite assembly and final delivery.

Basic Qualifications / Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Optics, Physics or Engineering with proven related practical opto-mechanical design experience.
• At least 2 years of accumulated hands-on experience on assembly, alignment and debugging of optical systems involving lasers, mirrors, telescopes, detectors, among others.
• At least 2 years of experience in opto-mechanical design with emphasis on tolerancing and stray light analysis. High proficiency in Optic Studio (Zemax) is essential.
• Relevant knowledge on design and analysis software, e.g. Solidworks, Sigfit. 
• A detail-oriented personality; careful, methodological, and persistent in tracking down problems.
• Able to communicate effectively, promptly raising issues to the team co-workers or manager when problems or concerns arise.
• Diligent worker, with good documentation / reporting habits

Preferred Qualifications / Experience:

• User-level experience with Linux (Unix) systems, close familiarity using shell command lines (either local, or through remote ssh connections).
• Some professional coding experience, such as Python, MATLAB, Octave, or a combination.
• Familiar working with on-line documentation on-the-cloud (such as google docs, spreadsheets, etc).

Spire is Global and our success draws upon the diverse viewpoints, skills and experiences of our employees. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or veteran status.