Senior Opto-Mechanical Engineer

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:

We are seeking a Senior Opto-Mechanical Engineer to bridge the optical and mechanical disciplines in support of advanced optical systems for deep-space missions. This engineer will design the structures, mounts, and mechanisms that preserve optical alignment through thermal variation, launch vibration, and on-orbit gravity release. The role partners closely with the Optics Engineer on optical prescription, the Optical Communications Engineer on pointing and isolation requirements, and the Mechanical Engineer on structural and thermal analysis.

About You:

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Optical Engineering, or a related field

• 5+ years of experience in opto-mechanical design for precision optical systems or similar

• Strong understanding of opto-mechanical design principles

• Proficiency in CAD modeling for optical or precision mechanical assemblies

• Experience using FEA to evaluate opto-mechanical structures for gravity sag, thermal distortion, and vibration response

Nice to haves but not required:

• Working knowledge of thermal effects on optical alignment, including CTE mismatch and thermally induced distortion

• Experience with space opto-mechanical hardware or environments

• Familiarity with contamination-sensitive hardware, optical coatings, and material selection for optical systems

• Knowledge of materials commonly used in opto-mechanical design, including aluminum alloys, stainless steel fasteners, and optics-compatible adhesives

At Relativity Space, we are committed to transparency and fairness in our compensation practices. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors.

Compensation is only one part of our total rewards package. Relativity Space offers competitive salary and equity, a generous PTO and sick leave policy, parental leave, an annual learning and development stipend, and more! To see some of the benefits & perks we offer, please visit here.

Hiring Range:

$142,000—$214,000 USD

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

If you need a reasonable accommodation, please contact us at accommodations@relativityspace.com.

Please note: Relativity Space does not accept unsolicited resumes, candidate profiles, or referrals from recruitment agencies or search firms. Any unsolicited submission - via email, our website, social media, or directly to an employee - will be deemed the property of Relativity Space, and no fee will be owed absent a current, fully executed agreement with Talent Acquisition that specifically authorizes submissions for the applicable role.

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