# Senior Photonics Engineer, Free-Space Optics at K2 Space

K2 Space is hiring a Senior Photonics Engineer, Free-Space Optics in Los Angeles, United States. It pays $150k-$220k a year and Level rates it Little AI ●○○○; you can [apply on K2 Space](https://jobsbylevel.com/go/66bb3ba1-7578-4038-972c-632dfa1db92b?utm_medium=ai-agent).

AI Level 1, AI centrality 25 out of 100. Los Angeles, CA.

## Details

- Company: [K2 Space](https://jobsbylevel.com/companies/k2-space)
- AI level: AI Level 1 (score 25 out of 100)
- Location: Los Angeles, CA
- Salary: $150k-$220k
- Posted: October 23, 2026
- Apply: https://jobsbylevel.com/go/66bb3ba1-7578-4038-972c-632dfa1db92b?utm_medium=ai-agent
- Free CV review for this job: https://jobsbylevel.com/cv-review?job=senior-photonics-engineer-free-space-optics-at-k2-space-f0908c

## Description

K2 is building the largest and highest-power satellites ever flown, unlocking performance levels previously out of reach across every orbit. Backed by over $1 billion in total funding from leading investors including Altimeter Capital, ICONIQ, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Redpoint Ventures, and T. Rowe Price — and with over $1 billion in signed contracts across commercial and US government customers, we're mass-producing the highest-power satellite platforms ever built for missions from LEO to deep space. The rise of heavy-lift launch vehicles is shifting the industry from an era of mass constraint to one of mass abundance, and we believe this new era demands a fundamentally different class of spacecraft. Engineered to survive the harshest radiation environments and to fully capitalize on today's and tomorrow's massive rockets, K2 satellites deliver unmatched capability at constellation scale and across multiple orbits. With multiple launches in 2027 and plans to scale to 100 satellites a year, we're Building Bigger — helping develop the solar system and build toward a Kardashev Type II (K2) civilization. If you are a motivated individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment and you're excited about contributing to the success of a high-growth Series D-funded company, we'd love for you to apply. The Role K2's ambitions extend beyond the satellite bus. By designing and operating our own spacecraft and regularly manifesting hardware to orbit, K2 is uniquely positioned to develop, test, and deploy ambitious, “limit-of-physics” optical and photonic payloads across MEO, GEO, cislunar, and deep space on unprecedented timelines. The satellite bus is the platform – the payloads are the mission. As a Senior Photonics Engineer focused on free-space optics, your role is to define how K2 measures and models the atmosphere, and how our optical hardware is designed to work through it. You will work at the intersection of free-space optical communications, adaptive optics, and integrated photonics, and own the full loop from experiment to model, across a ladder of experiments: tabletop emulators that reproduce atmospheric turbulence in the lab, benches that put our optical hardware (free-space receivers, wavefront correction, and photonic chips) inside that emulated channel, outdoor links across real turbulence on rooftops and test ranges, and occasional campaigns at mountaintop optical ground stations and observatories. You will own K2's atmospheric channel modeling and decide how measured data flows into requirements for PIC, test, and payload teams. You will work closely with PIC designers, test engineers, and K2's optical payload team, and as K2's payloads grow, you will also consult on remote-sensing and other payloads that look through the atmosphere. Responsibilities Design and build tabletop experiments that emulate optical propagation through turbulent media, using spatial light modulators, phase plates, and phase-screen generation; validate them against target statistics (Cn², r0, scintillation, beam wander, wavefront error, fade statistics). Put receivers in the loop (free-space optics, fiber and photonic-chip front ends, and their control electronics) and measure coupling efficiency, fading, bit error rate, and control-loop bandwidth. Characterize wavefront sensing and correction hardware (Shack-Hartmann sensors, deformable mirrors, SLMs) alongside photonic-integrated alternatives. Take experiments out of the lab: outdoor horizontal-path links on rooftops and test ranges, then night campaigns at mountaintop optical ground stations and observatories, including site coordination, laser-safety approvals, equipment transport, night operations, and data reduction. Own K2's optical propagation and channel models long-term: build them in Python, calibrate them continuously against lab and field data, quantify their uncertainty, and turn the results into requirements. Define the experiment roadmap: decide which

The description is cut here. Read the full offer: https://jobsbylevel.com/jobs/senior-photonics-engineer-free-space-optics-at-k2-space-f0908c

Source: https://jobsbylevel.com/jobs/senior-photonics-engineer-free-space-optics-at-k2-space-f0908c

## Cite this page

Level. https://jobsbylevel.com/jobs/senior-photonics-engineer-free-space-optics-at-k2-space-f0908c.

Get job alerts: https://jobsbylevel.com/newsletter