Senior Optical Communications Engineer

Senior Optical Communication Engineer

Herndon, Virginia

Work with a team of engineers to design and build satellite based optical communications laser terminals including optical inter-satellite links (OISL) and direct to earth links? We are looking for an optical communication engineer to join our Herndon, VA team to help pave the way for tomorrow’s advancement in space exploration. You will embrace a team atmosphere while being empowered to make decisions in your area of expertise.

Your Job

· As an optical communications engineer, you will be responsible for designing and building optical space terminals. Work includes optical space lasercom systems design, leading hand-on building of space flight optical flight terminals and leading the performance and environmental verification testing for space. Design and work with some of the smartest minds in engineering actively involved in current high-profile NASA and DOD missions.

· You will use your direct hands-on experience to support the design, fabrication, and qualification of laser communication terminals, optical modems, and optical pointing and tracking systems. Activities include coordinating a multidisciplinary team of engineers to the successful completion of next generation laser communication terminals and optical modems while supporting multiple concurrent projects with a mix of short-duration flight programs and long-duration technology maturation programs.

Required Skills and Experience

· MS or PhD. in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or other related engineering specialties with a minimum of 7 years direct hands-on designing, building, and characterizing optical systems.

· Knowledge of telecommunications standards and industry best practices

· Ability to design and execute experiments validating communications system performance and correlate the results with the expected performance.

· Ability to lead space flight hardware builds.

· Experience with modeling and simulation of optical systems using industry standard tools such as MATLAB, MATHCAD, ZEMAX or equivalent software tools

· Developing and setting requirements and design tolerances

· Experience with high-speed electrical circuits and radio frequency systems.

· U.S. Citizenship required

Desired Qualifications:

· Expertise in free space optical communications systems, link budgets, waveforms, standards.

· Understanding of opto-mechanical, thermo-optic tolerance and stability.

· Experience in position navigation and tracking technologies.

· Pointing and tracking expertise.

· Strong background in signal processing

· Strong background in sensors and electronics designs

· Aerospace industry experience.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $120,000.00 – $160,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Health insurance
• Paid time off

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Washington, DC: Reliably commute or planning to relocate before starting work (Required)

Education:

• Bachelor’s (Preferred)

Willingness to travel:

• 25% (Preferred)

Work Location: In person