Perform structural and thermal analysis and develop/maintain finite element models for optical flight hardware. Ensure optical alignment and survivability through launch, thermal, and vibration environments. Support STOP analysis with optical engineers to meet alignment sensitivity, detector tolerances, boresight stability, wavefront error, and pointing requirements.
Impulse Space is seeking an Opto-Mechanical Analysis Engineer to support the development of precision optical systems for spacecraft. This role will focus on structural, thermal-elastic, and dynamic analysis of opto-mechanical assemblies optical payloads.
This engineer will help ensure that optical hardware survives launch, maintains alignment through thermal and vibration environments, and performs reliably on orbit. Depending on experience level, this role may support, own, or lead analysis efforts for lens barrels, detector mounts, mirror mounts, baffles, mechanisms, and terminal-level optical assemblies.
The ideal candidate has strong mechanical fundamentals, experience with FEA or structural analysis, and an interest in the intersection of mechanical design, optical performance, and spaceflight environments.
Responsibilities
- Perform structural and thermal analysis on optical hardware.
- Develop and maintain finite element models for flight and development hardware.
- Support Structural-Thermal-Optical Performance analysis by working with optical engineers to understand alignment sensitivity, detector placement tolerances, boresight stability, wavefront error, and pointing requirements.
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Applied Mechanics, Physics, Optical Engineering, or related technical discipline.
- Experience with structural analysis, mechanical design analysis, FEA, or thermal-mechanical analysis through coursework, internships, research, or professional work.
- Strong understanding of mechanics of materials, dynamics, heat transfer, vibration, and structural behavior.
- Experience with CAD or FEA tools such as NX, SolidWorks, Nastran, ANSYS, SigFIT, Femap, Simcenter 3D, or equivalent.
- Ability to work with mechanical drawings, material properties, fasteners, tolerances, and physical hardware constraints.
Preferred Skills and Experience
- Experience analyzing aerospace, spacecraft, optical payload, camera, telescope, lasercom, or precision instrumentation hardware.
- Experience with Structural-Thermal-Optical Performance workflows using tools such as SigFit, Zemax OpticStudio, Code V, FRED, MATLAB, Python, or similar.
- Experience with opto-mechanical hardware such as lens barrels, mirror mounts, flexures, bonded optics, kinematic mounts, detector mounts, optical benches, or gimbaled assemblies.
Additional Information:
Compensation bands are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual level and base pay is determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on job-related skills, education, experience, technical capabilities and internal equity. In addition to base salary, for full-time hires, you may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of stock options, and access to medical, vision & dental coverage as well as access to a 401(k) retirement plan.
Impulse Space’s spacecraft manufacturing business is subject to U.S. export regulations including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR). This position requires applicants to be either U.S. Persons (i.e., U.S. citizen, U.S. national, lawful permanent U.S. resident (green card holder), an individual granted asylum in the U.S., or an individual admitted in U.S. refugee status) or persons eligible to obtain an export license from the U.S. Departments of State, Commerce, or other applicable U.S. government agencies. Learn more about the ITAR here.
Impulse Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Impulse 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.
About
Impulse Space, the in-space transportation company founded by Tom Mueller, is opening access beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with its fleet of in-space transportation vehicles. The high-energy Helios vehicle unlocks orbits beyond LEO with its powerful Deneb engine, dropping off payloads in MEO, GEO, heliocentric, lunar, and other planetary orbits. The flight-proven Mira vehicle uses a nontoxic, high-impulse chemical propulsion system to offer orbital transport, constellation deployment, and precision reentry services to customers throughout LEO. Led by a team that delivered the most reliable rockets in history, Impulse provides economical and efficient in-space transportation by reliably and rapidly getting customers where they want to go.
Impulse Space El Segundo, California, USA Office
El Segundo, CA, United States, 90245
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