Senior Electrical Engineer, Lasercom

About Observable Space

At Observable Space, we're redefining how humanity observes and connects with the universe. We're a vertically integrated, high-growth, space technology company building industry-leading precision optics platforms for Earth and in space. Our systems are trusted by thousands of customers, including NASA, JPL, SpaceX, Boeing, RTX, the US Space Force and the U.S. Department of War, leading research institutions and international partners.

We combine precision opto-mechanical hardware, embedded compute, cloud orchestration, and developer-friendly APIs into world class products at scale with in-house manufacturing. From advanced ground stations, on-orbit sensor suites, free space optical lasercom, to distributed compute platforms, we deliver the foundational systems enabling continuous, real-time navigation, observation, and communication in space.

Observable Space is backed by top-tier institutional investors including Lux Capital, Upfront Ventures, RTX Ventures, Detroit Venture Partners and Embedded Ventures. To learn more, visit observable.space.

We are seeking a highly skilled Electrical Engineer to help lead the design and development of the electrical systems that power our next-generation laser communications technology. This role sits at the intersection of photonics, fiber optics, analog electronics, RF design, and digital signal processing, supporting the development of high-performance optical communication systems for aerospace applications. This role is ideal for an engineer who enjoys solving complex multidisciplinary problems spanning electrical engineering, optics, and communications theory.

This role reports to the Director of Electrical Engineering.

• Design and develop electronics that interface directly with laser communication systems, including lasers, photonic integrated circuits (PICs), optical amplifiers, modulators, detectors, and fiber optic subsystems.

• Design high-speed analog and mixed-signal circuitry supporting coherent optical communications and free-space optical communication systems.

• Develop signal conditioning, amplification, timing, clocking, and data conversion circuitry for ultra-high-bandwidth optical links.

• Design, analyze, and validate high-speed signal paths with an emphasis on signal integrity, noise performance, jitter, and bandwidth.

• Model, simulate, prototype, and characterize optical communication hardware using laboratory instrumentation and simulation tools.

• Support development of DSP pipelines for modulation, demodulation, synchronization, equalization, and optical signal recovery.

• Collaborate closely with optical engineers to optimize laser performance, optical alignment, receiver sensitivity, and system link budgets.

• Perform electrical characterization and debugging using oscilloscopes, vector network analyzers, spectrum analyzers, bit‑error‑rate testers (BERTs), optical spectrum analyzers, and related laboratory equipment.

• Participate in architecture trade studies, component selection, and performance optimization across the complete optical communication system.

• Support transition from prototype through flight‑qualified hardware while balancing performance, manufacturability, and reliability.

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Photonics, Optical Engineering, or a related discipline.

• 5+ years designing optical communication or high‑speed communication systems.

• Strong understanding of fiber electronics, optics, lasers, and signal processing.

• Experience designing electronics supporting high‑speed optical or communication systems.

• Familiarity with digital communication theory, modulation schemes, coding, synchronization, and digital signal processing.

• Experience…