Solar Design Engineer

K2 is building the largest and highest-power satellites ever flown, unlocking performance levels previously out of reach across every orbit. Backed by $450M from leading investors including Altimeter Capital, Redpoint Ventures, T. Rowe Price, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Alpine Space Ventures, and others – with an additional $500M 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 planned through 2026 and 2027, we're Building Bigger to develop the solar system and become 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 groundbreaking Series C space startup, we’d love for you to apply. The Role Critical to achieving K2's vision of deploying at scale across MEO, GEO, cis-lunar, and deep space are the solar arrays. As a Solar Engineer, you will contribute to the design, manufacturing, testing, and deployment of high-power solar arrays for some of the largest spacecraft ever flown.

You'll work across technical domains; from module technology and electrical power systems to deployment mechanisms, structures, and production — learning from experienced engineers while taking on meaningful ownership of hardware from day one. First 6 months: Support solar array subsystem development through analysis, component-level testing, and manufacturing process documentation. First year: Own specific build and test activities for flight hardware, from assembly through acceptance testing.

First two years: Contribute to full lifecycle solar array development across multiple vehicle builds, developing expertise in both design and production.

Responsibilities

Support the design and analysis of solar array electrical and mechanical subsystems Assist in the development and maintenance of electrical performance degradation models across environment variations Execute assembly-level acceptance and qualification test procedures and document results Collaborate with avionics, structures/mechanisms, software, and production teams on integration activities and test campaigns Support design reviews with analysis products and test data Contribute to manufacturing processes for in-house fabrication and assembly, including work instructions, in-process checkouts, and end-of-line testing Participate in on-orbit data review and anomaly investigation efforts

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in physics, materials science, mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, electrical engineering, or a related technical field Internship in at least one of: photovoltaics, power systems, or materials characterization Hands-on hardware experience through internships, research, design competitions, or extracurricular projects

Nice To Have

Internship or research experience with solar arrays or power systems for space applications Exposure to solar cell or module characterization techniques (IV curves, electroluminescence, flash testing) Familiarity with structural analysis tools (Nastran, ANSYS, or equivalent) or thermal analysis tools Familiarity with space environment effects on materials, including radiation, thermal cycling, and atomic oxygen Experience with CAD software (NX, CATIA, SolidWorks) and practical GD T application Exposure to manufacturing processes such as soldering, layup, or electromechanical assembly Python or MATLAB proficiency for data analysis Independent and self-motivated mi