Optical Communications Engineer Long , California

At Relativity Space, we’re building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Our Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. But that’s just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the known.

The Interplanetary Sciences Program was established to expand access to scientific exploration across our solar system. Its mission is to make planetary research faster, more affordable, and more capable than ever before by rethinking how science missions are designed, built, and operated. The program aims to enable scientists to send instruments to distant worlds without decades of development or prohibitive costs.

By creating a sustainable model for interplanetary exploration, we are transforming space science from an occasional event into a continuous process of discovery that accelerates knowledge, broadens participation, and inspires the next generation of explorers.

As a Staff Optical Communications Engineer within the Interplanetary Sciences Program, you will own the end‑to‑end architecture, design, development, and delivery of a deep‑space optical communications terminal. You will translate mission needs into system performance requirements, develop architectures, and drive implementation through in‑house design or external partnerships.

In a fast‑paced, iterative environment, you’ll lead hands‑on development campaigns to evaluate key technologies, derisk interfaces, and validate performance before full system integration. Working across internal and external teams, you will turn concepts into hardware, balancing agility and rigor as you move quickly from analysis to prototypes to flight‑ready systems. Ultimately, you will lead the effort to deliver a robust, high‑performance optical communications capability that enables breakthrough science across the solar system.

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical field
• 7+ years of experience in laser communications, optical systems engineering, or spacecraft communications system development
• Proven ability to take complex technical systems from concept through qualification, integration, and operational deployment
• Hands‑on proficiency in electromechanical prototyping, including integration of optics, electronics, and mechanical subsystems such as gimbals, pointing mechanisms, and precision mounts
• Deep understanding of optical communications subsystems, including pointing, acquisition, and tracking (PAT); modems; and photonic hardware
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to synthesize technical details and drive decision‑making across engineering and program teams

• Experience with spaceflight hardware environmental testing and qualification
• Familiarity with NASA or commercial spacecraft systems engineering processes in an applied / New‑Space manner is a plus
• Experience with deep‑space or high‑radiation avionics systems

We are committed to transparency and fairness in our compensation practices. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job‑related factors.

Compensation is only one part of our total rewards package. Relativity Space offers competitive salary and equity, a generous PTO and sick leave policy, parental leave, an annual learning and development stipend, and more!

$188,000 - $251,000 USD

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.