Building the largest satellites in orbit. Ultra-powerful, scalable platforms engineered for LEO, MEO, GEO and cislunar missions. Explore the next-generation of satellites. Backed by Kleiner Perkins, First Round and ICONIQ.
About the role
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. Found on 1752vc Careers, the job board for startup and VC roles.
What they're looking for
- Build and maintain fabrication-aware inverse design (topology optimization in JAX or PyTorch, with lithography models and robustness to process variation) as a core engine of the flow
- Bring agentic and AI-guided tools into the design loop for design-space exploration, layout generation, optimization, and data analysis
- Maintain pcells and compact models for the team's component library, with regression tests so flow and PDK changes don't break existing designs
- Develop behavioral and physical models of photonic circuits, links, lasers, and gain media, and support system co-design with K2's electronics and ASIC teams
- Make the flow usable by the whole team through documentation, reviews, and mentoring
- PhD or MS in electrical engineering, optics, physics, computer science, or a related field, or a Bachelor's degree with equivalent experience
More about this role
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...
Browse similar: Startup jobs