Optical Engineer - Beam Expander & Optical Systems Design

Power the future of Space at Star Catcher

Star Catcher is building the first energy grid in space to power the orbital economy.

Today's spacecraft must generate all of their own power, which caps what they can do and how long they can operate. But what if they could "plug" into a grid, the way buildings do on Earth? Instead of cables and outlets, Star Catcher is building the technology to wirelessly beam energy to spacecraft's existing solar panels when and where they need it.

Be an early member of a team building an entirely new energy infrastructure at scale to power the next frontier.

Star Catcher Industries, Inc., located in Jacksonville, Florida, has an opportunity for an Optical Engineer - Beam Expander & Optical Systems Design to support the development of space-to-space power beaming spacecraft and the Star Catcher Network, its orbital power grid.

Key Responsibilities

• Design reflective beam expanders for space-based laser applications under the technical direction of the designated optical design lead.
• Perform optical design, optimization, and tolerancing in Zemax OpticStudio or CODE V to satisfy beam diameter, divergence, wavefront quality, and pointing-range requirements.
• Model beam propagation from the laser source to the target, including Gaussian/M² effects, truncation, obscuration, and the impact of wavefront error on far-field irradiance.
• Build top-level beam-propagation WFE budgets, decompose them into finer line items, and track predicted versus measured performance.
• Produce optical component specifications, drawings, and BOMs; support vendor selection, procurement, and incoming inspection.
• Work with opto-mechanical and thermal engineers on mounts, thermal sensitivity, and STOP analysis inputs.
• Support assembly, alignment, and test of beam-expander hardware, including hands-on laser alignment in the lab.
• Address high-power considerations in the design, including coatings, LIDT, back-reflections, ghost foci, and stray light.
• Document designs, analyses, and test results for design reviews.

Basic Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Optical Engineering, Optics, Physics, or a related technical discipline.
• Experience: 3+ years of optical design or laser-system experience; candidates with plenty of design experience are preferred.

Technical Expertise

• Proficiency in Zemax OpticStudio or CODE V, including sequential design, optimization, and tolerancing.
• Solid understanding of first-order optics, reflective and afocal systems, and third-order aberrations.
• Working knowledge of Gaussian beam propagation, M², and diffraction.
• Hands-on experience aligning optics for laser systems, including beam steering, collimation, and beam expansion.
• Familiarity with interferometric measurement and WFE metrics (RMS, peak-to-valley, Zernike terms, Strehl ratio).

Preferred Qualifications

• High-Power Lasers: Experience with optics for kW-class lasers.
• Physical Optics: Physical optics propagation in Zemax, or wave-optics models in Python or MATLAB.
• Space Hardware: Experience with flight optics or environmental testing.
• Programming: Python or MATLAB for analysis automation.
• Advanced Degrees: Master's degree in Optical Sciences, Optical Engineering, or Physics.

Pay and benefits

Help us deploy and scale space infrastructure that will drive our utilization of space forward! We offer a highly competitive benefits package including access to comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, 401(k) retirement plan, life insurance, and paid parental leave, in addition to other benefits.

All offers of employment at Star Catcher are contingent upon results of a thorough background check and your ability to provide proof of eligibility to work in the US.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.