{"id":1062439,"url":"https://alion.io/job/apolink-chief-engineer-optical-comms","title":"Chief Engineer (Optical Comms)","company":{"id":672028,"name":"Apolink","domain":"apolink.space","url":"https://alion.io/company/apolink","size_band":"1-10","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Ashby","truth_index":null},"role":"Industrial Engineering","role_family":"Industrial Engineering","seniority":"head","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Palo Alto, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":180000,"max":220000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":220000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"CCSDS","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-09-19T00:27:02Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-09-19","last_verified_at":"2026-10-26T00:00:27Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":37,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":37},"description":"About Apolink\nApolink is building the first-ever backward-compatible data relay constellation in low Earth orbit. By enabling efficient data aggregation and relay through our hybrid RF-optical inter-satellite link (ISL) architecture, we support scalable and resilient space infrastructure across commercial, federal, and defense applications.\nAbout The Role:\nThe Chief Engineer (Optical) is the company’s technical lead for optical communications across our LEO data relay constellation. They own the optical architecture, requirements, link design, and verification, and lead technical decisions with our optical terminal vendor. The vendor handles terminal manufacturing, while this role remains hands-on with analysis, integration, and testing. This is a sole-contributor leadership role.\nResponsibilities:\nOwn optical ISL and feeder-link architecture: wavelength plan, modulation and coding, aperture and divergence sizing, data rate vs range tradespace.\n\nDevelop and maintain end-to-end optical link budgets, including coherent receiver sensitivity, PAT margin, platform jitter, point-ahead, Doppler, stray light, fade statistics, and BER against realistic FEC.\n\nAuthor optical requirements and ICDs, and manage flowdown to the vendor and to internal bus, flight software, and ground teams.\n\nDirect the vendor technically: down-select, diligence, SOW and NRE scoping, design review participation, and accountability for performance and schedule.\n\nAdjudicate R&D direction with the vendor; what warrants NRE investment, what is technically unviable, what we buy versus co-develop.\n\nMay lead a ZR-800G-class coherent transceiver NRE with the optical terminal.\n\nMaintain compliance with applicable standards, including CCSDS O3K and SDA OCT where relevant to federal programs.\n\nQualifications:\nDirect, hands-on experience with LEO-LEO optical inter-satellite links: designing, building, or verifying crosslink terminals between spacecraft in low Earth orbit.\n\n6+ years in free-space optical communications, coherent optical transport, or spaceborne photonics.\n\nMS or PhD in optics, EE, or physics, or equivalent demonstrated depth.\n\nDemonstrated experience directing vendor technical performance and NRE programs.\n\nCapacity to exercise independent technical judgment as the sole optical authority and be accountable for it.\n\nPreferred:\nDirect experience with 400ZR, 800ZR, OpenZR+, or OIF coherent pluggables.\n\nFlight heritage on an optical comms payload.\n\nBenefits:\nCompetitive salary and benefits package\n\nMeaningful early-stage equity\n\nOpportunity to own optical for a constellation end to end\n\nMedical, dental, vision, 401(k), relocation assistance\n Salary: $180,000-$220,000\n\nAdditional Information\nTo conform to the U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.\nApolink is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.","description_format":"text","description_chars":3272,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":null,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"master","optional":false},"security_clearance":true,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Equity","Relocation assistance"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":true,"industries":["Satellite Communications","Satellite Manufacturing"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-19T10:02:47Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":28,"band":"fade","label":"Fading","p_open":1,"p_active":0.512,"p_room":0.55,"age_days":36,"expected_fill_days":25,"reasons":["conf:0","win:tail"],"computed_at":"2026-10-25T05:49:26Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":220000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/apolink-chief-engineer-optical-comms","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/apolink-chief-engineer-optical-comms.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-26T02:05:47Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":2725,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-27T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":672028},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=672028"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fapolink-chief-engineer-optical-comms"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fapolink-chief-engineer-optical-comms"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fapolink-chief-engineer-optical-comms"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/apolink-chief-engineer-optical-comms\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fapolink-chief-engineer-optical-comms"}]}