Relativity Space
StaffOpticalCommunicationsEngineer
Neural analysis suggests this role is
optimal for Staff candidates.
“Staff Optical Communications Engineer at Relativity Space. Skills: Optical communications, System architecture, Deep-space missions. Own end-to-end architecture, design, development, and delivery of. Translate mission needs into system performance requirements”
What You'll Achieve.
Make planetary research faster, more affordable, and more capable; Enable scientists to send instruments to distant worlds; Accelerate knowledge; Broaden participation; Inspire next generation of explorers; Deliver robust, high-performance optical communications capability
What They're Looking For.
Must Have
Bachelor's or Master's degree, 7+ years of experience, Proven ability to take complex technical systems from concept through qualification, integration, and operational deployment, Hands-on proficiency in electromechanical prototyping
Nice to Have
Experience with spaceflight hardware environmental testing and qualification, Familiarity with NASA or commercial spacecraft systems engineering processes, Experience with deep-space or high-radiation avionics systems
What You'll Do.
Own end-to-end architecture
Translate mission needs into system performance requirements
Develop architectures
Drive implementation through in-house design or external partnerships
Define and execute critical technologies enabling next-generation interplanetary
Lead hands-on development campaigns to evaluate key technologies
Validate performance before full system integration
Work across internal and external teams to turn
Balance agility and rigor
Move quickly from analysis to prototypes to flight-ready
Lead effort to deliver robust
high-performance optical communications
How You'll Work.
Team & Collaboration
Across engineering and program teams
Communication Scope
Synthesize technical details; Drive decision-making
Full Job Description
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. Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Here, you're not just executing tasks; you're solving problems that haven’t been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. Whether you’re in propulsion, manufacturing, software, avionics, or a corporate function, you’ll collaborate across teams, shape decisions, and see your work come to life in record time. Relativity is a place where creativity and technical rigor go hand in hand, and your voice will help define the stories we’re writing together. Now is a unique moment in time where it’s early enough to leave your mark on the product, the process, and the culture, but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The most meaningful work of your career is waiting. Join us. About the Team: 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. About the Role: As a Staff Optic
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