About this role
Impulse Space is seeking an Opto-Mechanical Design Engineer to support the development of precision optical systems for spacecraft. This role will focus on the mechanical design of optical assemblies, telescope structures, lens barrels, detector mounts, mirror mounts, baffles, pointing mechanisms, and alignment hardware for optical payloads. This engineer will help turn optical concepts into flight hardware: mechanically robust, alignable, manufacturable, testable, and stable through launch and on-orbit environments. Depending on experience level, this role may support, own, or lead the design of opto-mechanical assemblies from early architecture through detailed design, build, test, and flight qualification. Design opto-mechanical hardware for spacecraft optical systems, including lens barrels, telescope structures, detector mounts, optical benches, mirror mounts, baffles, flexures, kinematic mounts, and precision alignment features. Design mechanisms used in optical systems, including gimbals, focus mechanisms, launch locks, adjustable mounts, fast steering mirror interfaces, voice-coil or limited-angle actuation systems, motorized stages, and pointing assemblies. Develop mechanical architectures that support optical performance requirements such as element spacing, decenter, tilt, detector placement, boresight alignment, line-of-sight stability, and alignment retention. Work with optical engineers to convert optical prescriptions, lens layouts, chief ray constraints, pupil locations, detector tolerances, and stray light constraints into practical mechanical designs. Support the development of athermalized optical barrels and precision camera/telescope assemblies for high-accuracy star tracker and optical payload applications. Create CAD models, drawings, tolerance stackups, GD&T, BOMs, interface control documents, assembly procedures, and test fixture designs.