Space Optical Payload Test Engineer - Terawave

External

Blue Origin · Greater Seattle Area

Full-timeOn-siteToday

ComplianceDocumentationGitMatplotlibNumPyPandas

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About the role

As a Level III Space Optical Payload Test Engineer, you will work within a structured test team to plan, execute, and document environmental qualification and optical performance tests on lasercom flight terminals. You will work independently within your assigned scope under senior engineer oversight, collaborating with optical designers, systems engineers, and the production team. This is a hands-on hardware role - you will spend significant time in the lab, cleanroom, and at environmental test facilities, not primarily at a desk. Your acceptance data directly determines what flies.

Responsibilities

Environmental Qualification & Acceptance Testing

Write test plans and procedures for TVAC, vibration, and shock campaigns with clear pass/fail criteria, instrumentation requirements, safety precautions, and step-by-step operator instructions traceable to system requirements

Execute TVAC campaigns - configure instrumentation inside the vacuum chamber, monitor real-time temperature and performance data, perform functional checks at each test point, and document anomalies

Execute vibration and shock tests - set up accelerometers and sensors, monitor live data, coordinate fixture qualification with the structural team, and perform pre/post optical performance checks

Serve as Test Conductor: direct the test team, make real-time continue/hold/abort calls, enforce safety protocols, and maintain a complete test log

Present test results at TRRs (Test Readiness Reviews) and Post-Test Reviews with clear, data-supported findings

Optical & Opto-Mechanical Performance Testing

Measure WFE using interferometers (e.g., Zygo) or Shack-Hartmann sensors; decompose into Zernike terms; document pass/fail against specification limits

Measure LOS stability - static pointing error and dynamic jitter; process using PSD analysis tools

Verify optical throughput against link budget allocations; identify unexpected loss sources

Test PAT (Pointing, Acquisition, Tracking) - functional and performance verification against speed and accuracy specifications

Compare measured data to Zemax, FEA, and STOP model predictions; investigate and report discrepancies to senior engineers

Test Automation & Software Development

Write Python scripts (NumPy, SciPy, Pandas, Matplotlib) to control instruments over GPIB, USB, serial, and Ethernet/VISA interfaces; automate test sequences with real-time limit monitoring and pass/fail flagging

Build data reduction pipelines converting raw multi-channel datasets into performance summaries, compliance tables, and serial-number trend charts

Manage all code in Git with clear version control, commit documentation, and team code review compliance

Connect automation to LIMS/data management system - all results stored with unit serial number, build configuration, test date, and calibration status traceability

Support HIL/SIL test setups for PAT control system verification as directed by senior engineers

Data Acquisition & Instrumentation

Select, configure, and maintain sensors and DAQ hardware (NI PXI/cDAQ); verify signal conditioning, sample rates, and measurement ranges for each test

Track and renew instrument calibration on schedule - no out-of-calibration instrument may be used for flight-relevant acceptance measurements

Maintain an instrumentation database with calibration status, measurement uncertainty, and location for all test equipment

Measurement Uncertainty & Test Quality

Build measurement uncertainty budgets (GUM methodology); identify error contributors, calculate combined uncertainty, and set guardbands to protect acceptance decisions at specification boundaries

Support Gage R&R studies confirming test system repeatability and reproducibility before production acceptance use

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Space Optical Payload Test Engineer - Terawave

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