Chief Engineer (Optical Comms)

Apolink
Palo Alto
Workplace: OnsiteFull timeUSD 180,000 - 220,000 annuallyFunction: Communications, PR & CommunityExperience: 5+ yearsEducation: mastersSkills: ["Independent technical judgment","Hands-on technical leadership","Vendor management","Technical decision-making","Cross-team coordination"]

Lead end-to-end optical communications for a backward-compatible LEO data relay constellation, owning the optical ISL architecture, link budgets, and verification approach. Own requirements and ICDs, manage flowdown to the optical terminal vendor and internal flight software and ground teams, and direct vendor down-selections, SOW/NRE scoping, and design reviews. Maintain compliance with relevant space standards and set the technical R&D direction for optical initiatives.

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FursaFursa
Apolink
Apolink
2 days ago

Chief Engineer (Optical Comms)

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Last checked: 6 hours agoStatus: Live

Job Summary

Lead end-to-end optical communications for a backward-compatible LEO data relay constellation, owning the optical ISL architecture, link budgets, and verification approach. Own requirements and ICDs, manage flowdown to the optical terminal vendor and internal flight software and ground teams, and direct vendor down-selections, SOW/NRE scoping, and design reviews. Maintain compliance with relevant space standards and set the technical R&D direction for optical initiatives.
Location: Palo Alto
Workplace: Onsite
Employment Type: Full time
Job Function: Communications, PR & Community
Seniority: Sr. Manager level

Key Responsibilities

  • •Own optical ISL and feeder-link architecture, including wavelength plan, modulation and coding, aperture/divergence sizing, and data rate vs. range trade studies.
  • •Develop and maintain end-to-end optical link budgets, including receiver sensitivity, PAT margin, jitter, point-ahead, Doppler, stray light/fade statistics, and BER with realistic FEC.
  • •Author optical requirements and ICDs, and manage flowdown to the vendor as well as internal bus, flight software, and ground teams.
  • •Technically direct the vendor through down-select, diligence, SOW and NRE scoping, and design review participation with accountability for performance and schedule.
  • •Adjudicate R&D direction with the vendor and maintain compliance with relevant standards, including CCSDS O3K and SDA OCT where relevant.

Pay and Benefits

Salary: USD 180,000 - 220,000 annually
Equity and Bonus:Equity
Perks:Health InsuranceDentalVision401kRelocationEquity

Key Requirements

  • •Direct, hands-on experience with LEO-LEO optical inter-satellite links, including designing, building, or verifying crosslink terminals between spacecraft in low Earth orbit.
  • •6+ years in free-space optical communications, coherent optical transport, or spaceborne photonics.
  • •MS or PhD in optics, EE, or physics (or equivalent demonstrated depth).
  • •Demonstrated experience directing vendor technical performance and NRE programs.
  • •Capacity to exercise independent technical judgment as the sole optical authority and be accountable for it.
Experience:5+ yearsSpaceFree-space optical communicationsCoherent optical transportSpaceborne photonics
Education:Master's in optics, EE, or physics
Skills:Independent technical judgmentHands-on technical leadershipVendor managementTechnical decision-makingCross-team coordination
Tech Stack:Optical inter-satellite linkOptical link budgetsCoherent receiverPAT marginPlatform jitterPoint-aheadDopplerStray lightBERFECCCSDS O3KSDA OCT400ZR800ZROpenZR+OIF coherent pluggablesZR-800G-class coherent transceiver

Eligibility

Nationality:US National
Work Authorization:Authorization required. Sponsorship not provided.

Company Brief

Apolink
Apolink develops space-related technologies and services focused on satellite communications, mission support, and data connectivity solutions to enable reliable links between space assets and ground infrastructure for commercial and research applications.
Industry: Space Technology
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