Opto Mechanical Engineer

About Matter Intelligence

Welcome to Matter, where we are building the future of vision AI: pairing a world-first sensor that sees molecular chemistry, temperature, and 3D shape with a Large World Model that will be the most powerful intelligence engine for the physical world. This system doesn't just see what something looks like; it understands everything from a single pixel. We call this Superintelligent Vision
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Our team has delivered technologies to Mars for NASA/JPL, designed advanced sensors for U.S. Defense, and frontier artificial intelligence systems. We are now building the next generation of space- and airborne-based sensing systems.

We are seeking an Optomechanical Engineer to contribute to the design, analysis, integration, and qualification of high-performance optical payloads for space and airborne platforms. This role owns the optomechanical architecture and manufacturing readiness of Matter’s imaging systems from early concept through flight hardware.

You will champion optomechanical design across multiple programs, ensuring optical performance is preserved through structural, thermal, and dynamic environments (STOP). You will work closely with optical engineering, systems engineering, thermal, structures, and manufacturing partners, and will be hands-on with flight and test hardware.

• Lead the optomechanical design of precision optical assemblies, subsystems, and payloads for space-qualified remote-sensing systems.
• Define mechanical architectures for optical mounts, structures, mechanisms, and interfaces that preserve alignment and performance through launch and on-orbit conditions.
• Translate optical sensitivities and requirements into mechanical, thermal, and manufacturing requirements; decompose system requirements into optical and mechanical requirements, generate error trees, budgets, and allocations across wavefront, spectral, and mechanical parameters, and derive component specifications, drawings, and statements of work.
• Drive concept development, detailed design, and design maturity through all review gates.

• Own optomechanical performance across Structural, Thermal, and Optical Performance (STOP) domains.
• Perform and review tolerance analyses, GD&T, structural FEA, thermal and thermo-elastic analyses.
• Collaborate with optical engineers to support optical modeling and error budgets using Zemax, Speos, MATLAB, or equivalent analysis tools.
• Ensure designs meet stiffness, strength, thermal stability, and survivability requirements.

• Define alignment strategies, optical test equipment, tooling, fixtures, procedures, and assembly and test plans for precision optical systems.
• Lead optomechanical integration, bonding, assembly, and alignment of flight and test hardware, including hands-on work in cleanroom or contamination-controlled environments as required.
• Support optical metrology, calibration, test, characterization, and performance verification, including verification of as-built optical designs and test configurations.
• Support environmental testing including vibration, shock, and thermal-vacuum; drive anomaly resolution and root-cause analysis.

• Design for manufacturability, assembly, and test (DFM/DFA) while maintaining optical performance.
• Manage procurement of optical components and subsystems, vendor fabrication, inspection requirements, and technical vendor relationships.
• Produce and maintain detailed CAD models, drawings, BOMs, and assembly/test procedures.
• Support transition from prototype to low- and mid-rate production as needed.

• Serve as the optomechanical technical lead for payload hardware.
• Lead technical reviews and present designs to internal and external stakeholders.
• Identify technical risks early and drive mitigation strategies.
• Mentor junior engineers and help establish best practices in optomechanical design and integration.
• Partner with program management to balance performance, schedule, and cost.

• Optomechanical designs that meet performance requirements through launch and on-orbit environments.
• Stable, repeatable optical alignment with well-understood tolerances and margins.
• Hardware that integrates cleanly, tests efficiently, and qualifies without major rework.
• Clear documentation and interfaces that enable fast iteration and scaling.
• A team executing with rigor, ownership, and technical…