# Chief Engineer (Optical Comms) at Apolink

- Company: Apolink
- What the company does: Apolink Communications, a California-based satellite company, is building a 24/7 relay network in LEO. Our hybrid RF and optical links enable real-time connectivity for operators across industries. Backed by Y Combinator.
- Company website: https://apolink.space
- Type: Startups
- Level: Principal and up
- Location: Palo Alto
- Work setup: On-site
- Pay: $180K to $220K base salary per year (USD)
- Posted: 2026-09-19
- Apply by: 2026-11-03
- Apply: https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/apolink/338eca04-03cb-4a53-9053-650d17031651
- Page: https://www.1752.vc/careers/jobs/apolink-chief-engineer-optical-comms/

## About the role

The 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.

## What they're looking for

- Direct, hands-on experience with LEO-LEO optical inter-satellite links: designing, building, or verifying crosslink terminals between spacecraft in low Earth orbit
- 6+ years in free-space optical communications, coherent optical transport, or spaceborne photonics
- MS or PhD in optics, EE, or physics, or equivalent demonstrated depth
- Demonstrated experience directing vendor technical performance and NRE programs
- Capacity to exercise independent technical judgment as the sole optical authority and be accountable for it

Tags: Engineering