Chief Architect - Optical Communication Terminals

Location

This role will be based at our Broomfield, Colorado, office, with the option to work a few days a week remotely. Travel:
Up to 5%.

We are seeking a highly skilled and innovative Chief Architect to join our team. This position reports directly to Skyloom’s VP of Engineering as a member of the Engineering & Operations leadership team.

As a Chief Architect, you will design, implement, and optimize free‑space optical communication terminals across government and commercial customers. You will analyze and improve system performance metrics—such as wavefront error, SNR, and BER—while contributing to innovation in areas like atmospheric turbulence mitigation, adaptive optics, and laser propagation.

This role also offers leadership opportunities, including guiding projects, collaborating across disciplines, and contributing to R&D shaping next‑generation OCT products.

The ideal candidate is an experienced Optical Communications engineer with strong analytical skills and hands‑on free space optical communication expertise.

• Lead engineering activities for an optical communications payload from concept through launch.
• Define, analyze, and validate system and subsystem requirements for space environments.
• Collaborate with cross‑functional teams to develop integrated communication solutions, focusing on system architecture, performance, and reliability.
• Derive quantified requirements for optical communication terminals using analytical techniques, numerical modeling, and bench‑top testing.
• Conduct hardware/software validation of optical communication systems and subsystems.
• Provide technical support for integration and troubleshooting of optical systems and develop root cause analysis for products exhibiting non‑conformances in the optics subsystem.
• Analyze large amounts of laboratory data for validation and improvement purposes.
• Provide clear and rigorous presentations/reports on the subjects listed above, effectively communicating with a broad range of cross‑functional teams.

• Own critical design review processes, ensuring quality, completeness, and compliance.
• Lead system‑level test planning, verification, and compliance analysis.
• Collaborate across multidisciplinary teams (RF, software, FPGA, integration, quality, operations).
• Present program updates and technical solutions to internal/external stakeholders.
• Mentor and support team members within a collaborative engineering environment.
• Possess excellent communication skills to convey technical concepts clearly and efficiently across a range of subject areas.
• Organize and deliver assigned projects independently according to the project schedule.
• Demonstrate enthusiasm for working on multiple projects simultaneously in a self‑directed manner, thriving in a fast‑paced, multi‑cultural startup environment.

• 10+ years of experience in Free Space Optical communication systems. Proven experience in optical system design, modeling, and validation.
• Bachelor's, Master's, or Ph.D. degree in Optical Engineering, Physics, Electrical Engineering or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• Practical experience with fiber optic and free‑space optics laboratory setups.
• Familiarity with relevant communication standards and coding techniques.
• Strong understanding of wavefront errors, SNR, BER, and link budgets.
• Exhibit strong analytical skills for building models and solving complex problems.
• Experience with optical simulation/modelling tools (e.g., Zemax, Code V, MATLAB, Python).
• Knowledge of adaptive optics, beam steering, and pointing error impacts.
• Team player with strong problem‑solving skills with the ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Knowledge in the development of space optical instruments, especially in the field of telescopes, spectrometers, and interferometers within an industrial or scientific environment.
• Strong quantitative data analysis abilities using tools such as Matlab, Python, or equivalent.
• To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, the candidate must be a U.S. citizen, a…