Senior Optics Engineer - Assembly, Integration, & Test

Do you want to help a small company make a BIG difference in space? Do you take ownership of your job and responsibility for your actions? Then come work for Red Canyon and help us continue our mission of helping humankind reach the stars!
Red Canyon Software is looking for a passionate senior optics technician to help develop the future generation of space lasers!
This is an on-site, 4 month contract position (extension possible) where you will be directly involved in helping the program successfully get through production and launch.
The Optical Engineer is responsible for designing, building, and operating test equipment used to validate optical flight hardware meets design requirements. This role interfaces closely with the design and production teams to deliver a hardware design that is capable of cost-effective mass production. 

The ideal candidate for this role:

• Excels in the dynamic work environment of a technology startup
• Has a strong understanding of Optics, especially relating to telecommunications, free-space propagation, and/or astronomy.
• Enjoys collaboration and skill sharing across teams, and employs creative solutions to achieve goals
• Has solid lab skills and hands on experience designing and implementing laboratory optical experiments, especially involving high-speed communications, dynamic elements, and/or high-powered lasers with passive and/or active optical components
• Is passionate about expanding the commercial potential of Space and redefining what is possible in Earth orbit

Duties:

• Own the lifecycle of all optical components and systems, from creating and evaluating design feasibility all the way through development and implementation of performance testing
• Integrate and collaborate in a hands-on fashion with multiple disciplines such as software, electrical, control and mechanical engineering
• Evaluate and troubleshoot new opto-mechanical assemblies or fabrication processes
• Definition of optical verification strategies
• Develop and document assembly, fabrication, and test procedures for your peers to follow
• Organize and deliver on assigned projects in an independent manner, according to the project schedule.
• Mentor new hires and transfer knowledge
• Interface with stakeholders, both internal and external, to ensure proper spec development and presentation of results
• Comply with federal, state, and company policies, procedures, and regulations

Minimum Requirements:

• Knowledge in the development of space optical instruments, especially in the field of telescopes, spectrometers and interferometers within an industrial or scientific environment
• Enthusiasm to work on many projects simultaneously in a self-directed manner, in a fast paced multi-cultural startup environment
• Desire and motivation to fully own your duties, with a high degree of organization and a flair for process-oriented thinking
• Experience with optical design software (e.g. ZEMAX, STAR STOP analysis module, Code V, ASAP)
• Experience with mechanical design software (e.g. Solidworks, Siemens NX, SolidEdge, Creo, CATIA)
• Knowledge of programing languages such as: MATLAB or Python
• US Citizen
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualifications in optics, physics, engineering or related technical discipline

Preferred:

• Space-flight industry experience
• Spanish speaking is a plus
• Experience working in clean room environment from ISO 5 to ISO 8

Red Canyon Engineering and Software: “Exploring Other Planets, Improving our Own”
Red Canyon contracts with NASA, NOAA, NREL, JPL, and DOD, in addition to customers such as Lockheed Martin Space, Raytheon, Sierra Nevada Corporation, a.i. solutions, Walt Disney Imagineering, SAIC, Ball Aerospace, SpaceX, Honeywell, KBRwyle, Maxar, Blue Origin, and Moog. We specialize in building spacecraft, developing renewable energy technologies to help make our planet a better world and cutting edge research and development. Our disciplines include systems engineering, mechanical design, structural analysis, real time flight and ground software, simulation software, user interface software, and mission management software. We help our contractors with the full life cycle of product development from requirements to test and delivery.
Some of the programs we have previously or currently worked on include: Human Lander System, Artemis I-II, WorldView Legion V, Perseverance, InSight Dream Chaser, Psyche, Mars 98, Odyssey 01, Stardust, Genesis and Deep Impact, Mars Phoenix, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Orion, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, GOES-R, OSIRIS-REx, Maven, JUNO, Grail, and the MarsFlight and LunarSIM Simulation. We also work on classified programs.
Red Canyon’s home office is located in scenic Denver, Colorado