Mechanisms Engineer

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 plan doesn't stop at satellite buses. Operating our own vehicles and manifesting regular rides to space uniquely positions K2 to design, test, and deploy-at-scale ambitious remote sensing payloads in MEO, GEO, cis-lunar, and deep space on unprecedented timelines. The satellite bus is the platform – the payloads are the mission. 

There are any number of space-based optical payloads that can generate value here on Earth (ex. forest fire detection, climate and atmospheric monitoring, etc.) and further planetary science in our solar system (ex. hyper-spectral imaging, laser-altimetry) -- all of which benefit from precisely steered and stabilized large aperture optical systems for collecting and transmitting optical energy from the UV to the infrared. 

As Principal Mechanisms Engineer, you will be responsible for defining how K2 designs, manufactures, tests, integrates, and deploys coarse pointing assemblies for large aperture optical payloads. The development timelines and manufacturing scale that we are targeting will require meaningful innovation, but you will have the resources and full support of K2 to make this possible and help raise the bar for the next generation of space technology companies. 
 
Responsibilities 

Responsible for delivering the... 

(1) design and tolerancing; 

(2) line-of-sight error budgeting and stabilization analysis;