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Instrument Development Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Muon Space

Senior Optomechanical Engineer

Mountain View, CA · On-site +1

$166K - $223K/yr

In this role you will span the full lifecycle of instrument development-from design and analysis, to assembly, integration, and test. You will be responsible for interacting with cross functional ...

Muon Space

Senior Optomechanical Engineer

Mountain View, CA · On-site +1

$166K - $223K/yr

In this role you will span the full lifecycle of instrument development-from design and analysis, to assembly, integration, and test. You will be responsible for interacting with cross functional ...

Muon Space

Staff Optical Engineer

Mountain View, CA · On-site +1

$166K - $223K/yr

Champion the continuous improvement of testing methodologies, tools, and best practices to enhance overall efficiency and reliability in instrument development. Qualifications * Ph.D. and 5+ years of ...

ExxonMobil

... development and delivery Shares Best Practices and provides feedback Develops strong personal ... Minimum 5 years relevant instrument technician work experience Must be a Nigerian citizen, must ...

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Instrument Development information

What is the difference between Instrument Development vs Instrument Technician?

AspectInstrument DevelopmentInstrument Technician
CredentialsBachelor's or higher in engineering, physics, or related fieldsAssociate's degree or technical certification in instrumentation or electronics
Work EnvironmentDesign labs, R&D departments, engineering firmsManufacturing plants, maintenance facilities, field service
Job FocusDesigning, developing, and testing new instrumentsInstalling, maintaining, and repairing instruments

Instrument Development involves creating and designing new instruments, requiring engineering skills and a focus on innovation. In contrast, Instrument Technicians focus on maintaining and repairing existing instruments, often working in field or maintenance settings. Both roles are essential in the instrumentation industry but differ in their responsibilities, skills, and work environments.

What are popular job titles related to Instrument Development jobs in California? For Instrument Development jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Instrument Development jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Instrument Development jobs in California are:
What cities in California are hiring for Instrument Development jobs? Cities in California with the most Instrument Development job openings:
Instrument Development jobs near you
Infographic showing various Instrument Development job openings in California as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 100% Full Time. Highlights an 46% In-person, and 54% Remote job distribution.

Senior Instrument Systems Engineer

Muon Space

Mountain View, CA • On-site, Remote

$166K - $223K/yr

Full-time

Re-posted 5 days ago

Job description

About the role

Muon seeks a Senior Instrument Systems Engineer to join our team in Mountain View, CA or Remote, with a focus on infrared remote sensing instruments. The ideal candidate is a self-motivated engineer with a versatile skill set who is comfortable working across many layers of technical depth from individual components through system level. This role will be a key member of the instrument engineering team, driving development from concept through on-orbit operations for our national security missions. Previous experience developing and operating infrared electro-optical systems, remote sensing instruments, and test infrastructure in fast-paced and small-team environments is preferred.

Responsibilities
  • Lead instrument architecture trades, define concept of operations, own radiometric model and throughput budget, drive requirements decomposition/flowdown and verification and validation (V&V) planning.
  • Develop and manage technical budgets, including mass, power, thermal, line-of-sight pointing/jitter, and data volume, to ensure adequate margins throughout development.
  • Develop comprehensive interface control documents (ICDs) across mechanical, thermal, electrical, and software interfaces, to drive a modular instrument architecture.
  • Support optical instrument assembly, integration, and test (AI&T) planning and implementation, including collaboration with cross-functional teams.
  • Champion the continuous improvement of systems engineering methodologies, tools, and best practices to enhance overall efficiency in instrument development.
  • Collaborate and communicate effectively with subsystem engineers and analysts, instrument and spacecraft systems engineers, AI&T and production teams, program managers, external partner teams, and other stakeholders.
  • This position participates in a 24/7 on-call rotation to support on-orbit anomaly resolution. The on-call rotation is approximately one week per month.
Qualifications
  • B.S, M.S., or Ph.D. in an engineering field, or equivalent experience.
  • 5+ years of experience working in a multi-disciplinary environment, with exposure to imaging systems, infrared remote sensing instruments, and spacecraft.
  • Software skills in one or more languages (e.g. Python, Julia).
  • Experience with root cause analysis efforts including data analysis and testing.
  • Experience performing data analysis, post-processing, and test report generation.
  • Excellent communication, presentation, and organization skills.
  • Excited to work in a fast-paced environment with new challenges each week.
  • Ability to obtain TS/SCI security clearance required, active clearance strongly preferred.
Nice-to-have Skills
  • Experience integrating and interpreting STOP analysis results to drive instrument design trades and error budget allocations.
  • Experience working hands-on with precision optical and mechanical metrology equipment.
  • Experience supporting environmental testing (thermal stress screening, TVAC, random vibration), integrated spacecraft testing, and launch campaigns.
  • Experience working in cleanroom environments.
Salary

The salary range for this role is $166,000 to $223,000, plus a competitive equity grant and comprehensive benefits package. Final compensation will be determined based on skills, qualifications, experience, and geographic location as assessed during the interview process. 

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