Senior Photonics Test & Automation Engineer
Key Skills for This Role
Full Job Posting
Responsibilities
- Design, build, and own automated wafer-, die-, and module-level PIC test stations, including optical and RF probing, fiber-array alignment, and swept-laser measurements.
- Develop modular, reusable test automation software and instrument drivers in Python, with version control, CI, and AI-assisted tooling, and a shared data pipeline used by design, packaging, and reliability engineers.
- Interface PIC test stations with custom free-space optical testbeds (beam delivery and steering, spatial light modulators and phase screens, cameras and wavefront sensors) through shared instrument control, synchronization, and data.
- Characterize passive and active photonic devices (waveguides, couplers, filters, modulators, photodetectors, and heaters) including high-speed electro-optic measurements.
- Own design-for-test standards (test-structure library, probe and fiber-array conventions); correlate measurements with simulation, feed them into the team's design automation and modeling flow, and maintain statistical process control and gauge R&R.
- Build portable, automated setups for in-situ measurements during radiation, thermal-vacuum, and burn-in campaigns with K2's reliability and radiation-effects engineers.
- Scale test from one device to many (parallel test, test-time reduction, and operator procedures) and hand off to production at constellation volume.
- Mentor engineers and technicians, and set lab standards for safety, calibration, and documentation.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, physics, optics, or a related technical field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- 5+ years of hands-on experience testing photonic integrated circuits or optoelectronic components (probing, fiber alignment, and optical test equipment).
- Built automated test stations from scratch, with Python for instrument control, test frameworks, and data analysis.
- Hands-on free-space optics (alignment, beam characterization, cameras or wavefront sensors).
Nice to Have
- Advanced degree (MS or PhD) in a related field.
- Integrating free-space optical setups into automated test, and writing test plans and defining test structures with designers.
- Atmospheric turbulence, adaptive optics, or free-space optical communications, especially turbulence emulation with spatial light modulators or phase screens, or outdoor and field optical testing.
- High-speed electro-optic characterization to 50+ GHz (lightwave component analyzers, VNAs, BERTs, sampling oscilloscopes).
- Experience with commercial photonic probers and automated test equipment (e.g., FormFactor, MPI, ficonTEC).
- Polarization-diverse and phase-sensitive optical measurements.
- Environmental, thermal-vacuum, burn-in, or radiation testing of space hardware.
- Production test, manufacturing execution systems, or SQL test databases.
- Compensation and Benefits:
- Base salary range for this role is $150,000 - $220,000 + equity in the company
- Salary will be based on several factors including, but not limited to: knowledge and skills, education, and experience level
- Comprehensive benefits package including paid time off, medical/dental/vision coverage, life insurance, paid parental leave, and many other perks
- If you don’t meet 100% of the preferred skills and experience, we encourage you to still apply! Building a spacecraft unlike any other requires a team unlike any other and non-traditional career twists and turns are encouraged!
- If you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know.
- Export Compliance
- As defined in the ITAR, “U.S. Persons” include U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (i.e., Green Card holders), and certain protected individuals (e.g., refugees/asylees, American Samoans). Please consult with a knowledgeable advisor if you are unsure whether you are a “U.S. Person.”
- The person hired for this role will have access to information and items controlled by U.S. export control regulations, including the export control regulations outlined in the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR). The person hired for this role must therefore either be a “U.S. person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.15 or otherwise eligible for a federally issued export control license.
- Equal Opportunity
- K2 Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with K2 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 K2 Space
Building high-power, mass-produced satellite platforms.
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