Photonics Engineer Internship Jobs (NOW HIRING)

K2 is building the largest and highest-power satellites ever flown, unlocking performance levels previously out of reach across every orbit. Backed by $450M from leading investors including Altimeter Capital, Redpoint Ventures, T. Rowe Price, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Alpine Space Ventures, and others - with an additional $500M 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 planned through 2026 and 2027, we're Building Bigger to develop the solar system and become a Kardashev Type II (K2) civilization.

As a member of our growing analysis team you will help own the successful derivation of loads and environments for K2 Space satellites during ground transportation, launch, deployment, and on-orbit operation. You will build software tools and establish simulation workflows to support a variety of analyses in frequency and time domains. Within your first couple of months you will devise development testing to correlate physics models with measured data. You will also own qualification and acceptance testing of satellite hardware at the component and vehicle level. As we continue to refine our designs and scale for the future you will be responsible for delivering well-derived requirements and engineering insights to make reliable and mass-producible spacecraft.

• Drive subsystem-level dynamic testing from start to finish including test planning and coordination, test analysis, and model correlation
• Develop physics models using finite element analysis or custom software
• Create software tools to support data processing and simulation frameworks
• Collaborate with design engineers, analysts, and external customers to develop satellite products
• Apply first principles in developing frameworks for both dynamics and non-dynamics analyses
• Contribute to code reviews for simulation and analysis tools
• Utilize analysis and test to provide data-driven engineering guidance and decisions
• Write high quality technical documentation of test and simulations

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, physics, or mathematics
• 1+ years of work experience in dynamics either from industry, research, internships or academic projects

• Master's degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, physics, or mathematics
• Strong understanding of low and high frequency dynamics (vibration, shock, modal testing)
• Experience with testing and measurements
• Experience with finite element analysis software (e.g. FEMAP, Nastran)
• Software development experience in Python
• Strong knowledge of digital signal processing, statistics, and structural mechanics
• Capable of identifying and solving complex problems with little to no supervision or direction
• Excellent communication skills of analysis and test insights.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, unstructured start-up environment.

Base salary range for this role is $110,000 - $140,000 + equity in the company

Salary will be based on several factors including, but not limited to: knowledge and skills, education, and experience level

Comprehensive benefits package including paid time off, medical/dental/vision coverage, life insurance, paid parental leave, and many other perks

If you don't meet 100% of the preferred skills and experience, we encourage you to still apply! Building a spacecraft unlike any other requires a team unlike any other and non-traditional career twists and turns are encouraged! If you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know.

As defined in the ITAR, U.S. Persons include U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (i.e., Green Card holders), and certain protected individuals (e.g., refugees/asylees, American Samoans). Please consult with a knowledgeable advisor if you are unsure whether you are a "U.S. Person." The person hired for this role will have access to information and items controlled by U.S. export control regulations, including the export control regulations outlined in the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR). The person hired for this role must therefore either be a "U.S. person" as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.15 or otherwise eligible for a federally issued export control license.

K2 Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with K2 Space is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.