Senior Satellite Mechanical Engineer, Optical Structures

K2 is building the largest and highest-power satellites ever flown, unlocking performance levels previously out of reach across every orbit. Backed by $450M from leading investors including Altimeter Capital, Redpoint Ventures, T. Rowe Price, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Alpine Space Ventures, and others – with an additional $500M in signed contracts across commercial and US government customers – we’re mass-producing the highest-power satellite platforms ever built for missions from LEO to deep space.

The rise of heavy-lift launch vehicles is shifting the industry from an era of mass constraint to one of mass abundance, and we believe this new era demands a fundamentally different class of spacecraft. Engineered to survive the harshest radiation environments and to fully capitalize on today’s and tomorrow’s massive rockets, K2 satellites deliver unmatched capability at constellation scale and across multiple orbits.

With multiple launches planned through 2026 and 2027, we're Building Bigger to develop the solar system and become a Kardashev Type II (K2) civilization. If you are a motivated individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment and you're excited about contributing to the success of a groundbreaking Series C space startup,

K2's plandoesn'tstop at satellite buses. Byoperatingour own vehicles and manifesting regular rides to space, K2 is uniquely positioned to design, test, and deploy-at-scale ambitious optical payloads in MEO, GEO, cis-lunar, and deep space on unprecedented timelines. The satellite bus is the platform - the payloads are the mission.

In this role, you will have cradle-to-grave ownership overthe mechanical elements ofspace environment payloads including optical payloads,with a focus onbroadermechanical skills – including but not limited to structural design for stress and modal performance;design foroptimalmanufacturing;design of lens and optical component mounting solutions that can perform in launch and space environments;thermal analysis and mitigation;and cradle-to-grave ownership from clean-sheet trades, design, analysis, testing, and integration support.

You'llpartner closely with optical engineers, but your center of gravity is mechanical design, structural performance, and hardware realization.

In your first 6 months, you will define mechanical and optomechanicalrequirements, create initial concepts and trades, perform preliminary and detailed analysis, define development test campaigns, and produce development hardware. In your first year, you willvalidateyour designs through prototype iterations and build and qualify flight hardware. In your first two years you will fly your hardware in space while directly supporting production and integration.

• Take satellite mechanical and optical hardware from conceptual design through analysis, prototyping, flight manufacturing, and qualification to on-orbit operations in order tosupport internal and external customer needs.
• Own structural, electronics thermal heat sinking, and lens mounting design and implementation for subsystems at the intersection of mechanical, optical, and electrical.
• Perform hardware trades that steer both sub-system and top-level product direction
• Lead subsystem design reviews from kickoff through qualification and beyond
• Drive hardware development, including hands-on assembly and alignment, development testing (vibration, thermal-vac, modal), analysis correlation, and follow-on hardware iterations
• Collaborate with a cross-functional team–structures, optical, thermal,electrical, GNC,metrology,and manufacturing- toestablishproduct requirements, company processes, and best practices for hardware design and manufacturing
• Continually own and refine sub-system deliverable schedules…