Cowboyspace

Optical Engineer

San Carlos, California · Exec

Work authorization required$120k-$200kDetected 71 days ago

AccountingBudgetingProcurementCommunication

About the role

This role spans the transmitter beam path, the ground receive telescope, and beam diagnostic systems.

Design and optimize free-space optical assemblies including beam expanders, collimators, and telescope interfaces.
Build and maintain optical system models using Zemax or Code V, including tolerance and stray light analyses.
Define optical interface specifications for mechanical and opto-mechanical design.
Specify optical components, coatings, and filters, and manage procurement and acceptance testing.
Own the optical coupling efficiency budget from the receive telescope to the fiber injection point.
Perform structural-thermal-optical (STOP) analyses in coordination with mechanical and thermal engineers.
Generate design specifications, analysis reports, and test plans.
Cowboy Space Corp. is building the infrastructure to power and connect the orbital economy.
We're moving quickly to solve complex technical challenges and build a new category of space infrastructure.

Bachelor's degree in Optical Engineering, Physics, or related field.
3+ years of experience designing free-space optical systems.
Proficiency in Zemax or Code V.
Experience specifying, procuring, and acceptance testing custom optical components and coatings.
Experience with optical tolerance budgeting including Monte Carlo methods, alignment sensitivity analysis, and thermal/athermal analysis across operating temperature ranges.
Experience with structural-thermal-optical (STOP) analysis and multi-physics optical performance modeling.
Familiarity with fiber-to-free-space coupling and single-mode fiber injection.

Master's or PhD in Optical Engineering or Physics.
5+ years of experience in an aerospace or defense optical systems role.
Experience with FSO communication.
Familiarity with adaptive optics.
Experience with alignment stability analysis for deployable or launch-survivable optical assemblies.
Experience with environmental validation of space-based optical systems (thermal-vacuum, vibration, radiation).
Experience with Class 4 laser lab environments.
10 paid holidays per calendar year

Founded in 2024 by Baiju Bhatt (co-founder of Robinhood), Cowboy Space Corp. is backed by leading investors and built by a team from top aerospace and defense organizations.

This listing is sourced directly from Cowboyspace's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.