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K2 Space is building the largest and highest-power satellites ever flown, backed by $450M in funding from top-tier investors including Altimeter Capital, Redpoint Ventures, and T. Rowe Price. The company is mass-producing advanced satellite platforms for missions across LEO, MEO, GEO, cis-lunar, and deep space, with multiple launches planned through 2026-2027.
In this role, you will own the mechanical design and structural engineering of space environment payloads, with a primary focus on optical payload structures. Your responsibilities span the full lifecycle: from clean-sheet concept trades and requirements definition through detailed design, analysis, testing, and on-orbit support.
Key technical areas include structural design for stress and modal performance, design for manufacturing optimization, lens and optical component mounting solutions that survive launch and space environments, thermal analysis and mitigation, and integration support. You will partner closely with optical engineers but serve as the mechanical design lead, ensuring hardware realization and performance.
In your first 6 months, you will define mechanical and optomechanical requirements, create initial concepts, perform preliminary and detailed analysis, and produce development hardware. By year one, you will validate designs through prototype iterations and build qualified flight hardware. By year two, you will support production, integration, and on-orbit operations of your designs.
This is a high-impact role at a Series C space startup with significant government and commercial contracts, offering the opportunity to work on cutting-edge satellite technology at scale.
