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Optical Engineer, Communications

Cowboy Space Corporation· Lasers & Optical Communications Engineering
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San Carlos, California$165k - $220kFull-timePosted 5mo ago

About the role

Optical Engineer responsible for designing, developing, and optimizing high-power laser systems for Cowboy Space Corp.'s satellites, with focus on fiber lasers, photonics, and space-based optical communications.

Responsibilities

  • Design and develop high-power fiber laser and amplifier systems for space-based applications
  • Characterize laser sources including linewidth, phase noise, RIN, and spectral purity
  • Select, integrate, and qualify fiber-optic components and subsystems for integration into a space-based platform
  • Perform and supervise fiber splicing and assembly of fiber-optic subassemblies
  • Model and measure fiber nonlinearity effects including SBS and SPM
  • Design and align coherent fiber-optic receivers
  • Develop and execute test plans for optical performance verification including BER, eye diagrams, and spectral measurements
  • Generate design specifications, assembly procedures, and test reports

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree+ in Optical Engineering, Physics, Electrical Engineering, or related field
  • 3+ years of hands-on experience with fiber-optic systems including splicing, component integration, and characterization
  • 2+ years of professional laser beam characterization experience
  • Experience with optical diagnostics, optical relays, and imaging
  • Optical systems design and alignment (free-space optical)
  • Experience with rare-earth-doped fiber amplifiers
  • Familiarity with fiber-optic communications modulation formats
  • Experience operating OSAs, power meters, polarimeters, and high-speed oscilloscopes

Skills

Required:Fiber laser design and optimizationFiber nonlinearity modeling (SBS, SPM)Coherent fiber-optic receiver designOptical characterization (linewidth, phase noise, RIN)

Benefits

  • Equity in Cowboy Space Corp.
  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and eligible dependents
  • 401(k) retirement savings plan
  • 10 paid holidays
  • Unlimited paid time off
  • Paid parental leave
  • Relocation assistance if applicable
  • Daily lunch in the office and fully stocked kitchen with beverages and snacks
Last updated Oct 18, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About Cowboy Space Corporation

Powering Humanity From the High Frontier

Cowboy Space Corp. is building a power grid in outer space for artificial intelligence. It is an integrated system of satellites and rockets to haul high-performance compute and optical data transmission down from Low Earth Orbit. Earth's energy grid can't run at the pace of AI. We can.

Orbital Data CentersAI compute in spacesolar-powered data centersLow Earth Orbitpower grid in space
Company profileWebsite

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