Relativity Space

StaffOpticalCommunicationsEngineer

$188–251k Long Beach, California, United States
Market Sentiment
HIGH DEMAND

Neural analysis suggests this role is
optimal for Staff candidates.

The Brief

“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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