Job Description
The Lead Optical Manufacturing Technician oversees and guides a team responsible for building, testing, and aligning optical payloads for satellite programs, ensuring high-quality manufacturing and collaboration with engineering teams in a fast-paced environment.
Key Responsibilities
- Oversee and guide a team of optical technicians in building, testing, aligning, and characterizing optical payloads for satellite programs
- Become knowledgeable in optical architecture, program milestones, and manufacturing workflows across all optics lines
- Delegate tasks, prioritize work, and ensure team meets deadlines while maintaining high technical and operational standards
- Serve as primary liaison between manufacturing optical technicians and engineering teams, translating requirements and ensuring proper documentation and communication
- Train technicians on optical assembly, alignment, metrology, and testing procedures
- Ensure quality standards for optical builds, including cleanliness, handling, and alignment practices
- Partner with engineers to resolve issues, perform root-cause analysis, and prepare manufacturing for new designs
- Maintain organized optical lab equipment, test stations, and inventory
- Review and improve procedures and build instructions for repeatability and quality
- Report on program status, team progress, and risks to management
- Drive continuous improvement in throughput, yield, documentation, communication, and workflow
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Optical Engineering, Physics, Optics, or related field.
- 6 years of hands-on experience with imaging systems, telescope builds, optical metrology, or optomechanical assemblies.
- Strong understanding of optical alignment, image quality metrics, stray light considerations, camera calibration, and radiometric MFT calculations.
- Ability to lead or mentor technical teams including delegation, prioritization, coaching, and performance feedback.
- Excellent communication skills (verbal, written, cross-functional), with demonstrated ability to clearly articulate needs, escalate early, and maintain strong engineering manufacturing alignment.
- High level of technical curiosity and the ability to ask clarifying questions when requirements, drawings, or instructions are ambiguous.
- Strong debugging and analytical skills for optomechanical and electrical subsystems.
- Proficiency with optical test equipment such as interferometers, wavefront sensors, autocollimators, integrating spheres, monochromators, and power meters.
- Strong organizational and documentation skills, including maintaining clean labs, up-to-date procedures, and clear digital trails using Slack, JIRA, Confluence.
- Experience writing or modifying detailed test assembly procedures.
- Ability to work in a high-speed, high-accountability environment with multiple deadlines and shifting priorities.
- Familiarity with laboratory safety, cleanroom practices, and handling of delicate optical components.
- Application for this position requires access to export-controlled information, and the candidate must be able to access all applicable export-controlled information without additional export licensing being required by the Bureau of Industry and Security and/or the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls.
Benefits & Perks
Comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision plans
Health Savings Account (HSA) with a company contribution
Generous Paid Time Off in addition to holidays and company-wide days off
16 Weeks of Paid Parental Leave
Wellness Program and Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Home Office Reimbursement
Monthly Phone and Internet Reimbursement
Tuition Reimbursement and access to LinkedIn Learning
Equity
Commuter Benefits if local to an office
Paid Volunteering Time Off
US base salary range of 144,500 - 180,600 USD
Potential eligibility for discretionary short-term and long-term incentives, bonus, and equity
Ready to Apply?
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