Optical Systems Engineer

Department: Engineering

Location: Torrance, CA

Compensation: $120K – $200K • Offers Equity

Employment Type: FullTime

About Northwood:

Northwood is on a mission to transform connectivity between earth and space and bring the benefits of space to the masses through innovations in space communications technologies. If you like building quickly and seeing your work deployed in locations around the globe with real impact, we want you at Northwood.

Role:

Northwood is looking for an Optical Systems Engineer to lead analysis, testing, and integration of optical ground station systems for space communications. In this role, you’ll work closely with the CTO and engineering team to evaluate and validate free-space optical communication systems deployed at Northwood ground sites. You’ll contribute across the full lifecycle of optical system development - from architecture and link analysis through experimental validation and field testing. This is a highly hands-on role at the intersection of optics, communications, and aerospace infrastructure, ideal for someone who has experience bringing complex systems into real-world deployment.

Responsibilities:

• Apply optics and photonics expertise to the definition and refinement of free-space optical system requirements and architectures

• Evaluate optical communication systems to understand performance, tradeoffs, and operational constraints

• Develop and execute test campaigns to characterize system performance and readiness

• Analyze test data and troubleshoot issues in optical hardware, alignment, and signal performance

• Work across mechanical, electrical, and software teams to integrate optical subsystems into production systems

• Contribute to opto-mechanical design considerations including alignment, stability, and environmental robustness

• Support system bring-up, integration, and field deployment of optical communication systems

• Lead integration of optical terminals into ground station environments, including site constraints, power, thermal, and environmental considerations

• Contribute to operational readiness of optical links, including monitoring, reliability, and uptime considerations

• Work with network and mission operations teams to support end-to-end optical link performance

• Analyze performance across different site locations to inform network-wide optimization

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience in optical engineering, physics, or a related engineering discipline

• 5+ years of experience in optical system design, photonics, or laser-based systems (research or industry)

• Experience working with optical modeling, analysis, or simulation tools

• Hands-on experience with optical laboratory equipment and experimental validation

Preferred Experience and Skills:

• Master’s or PhD in optics, photonics, physics, or a related field

• Experience with free-space optical communication systems or laser communications

• Familiarity with optical modeling tools such as Zemax, Code V, or similar

• Experience with optical alignment, metrology, and characterization techniques

• Knowledge of atmospheric propagation effects relevant to optical links

• Experience integrating optical hardware with mechanical and electronic systems

• Programming experience in Python, MATLAB, or similar tools for analysis and automation

• Strong experimental intuition and ability to rapidly prototype and test new concepts

Additional Information:

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Northwood is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Northwood 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.