Staff Optical Engineer

Benefits

Parental leave

Not verified

Non-birth-parent leave

Not verified

Family-building benefits

• Fertility benefits: Not verified
• Adoption assistance: Not verified
• Surrogacy assistance: Not verified

Mental health support

Not verified

Relocation assistance

Not verified

Childcare support

Not verified

Learning budget

Not verified

Verification

Not verified

Salary

$161K-$221K From the posting source checked Jun 20, 2026

401(k) match

Not verified

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Market context

U.S. role benchmark (BLS OEWS)

$116,543 U.S. median for this role

Projected growth (BLS Employment Projections)

+9.8% - Much faster than average

64% above the BLS role benchmark for software engineering aggregate.

Matched to SOC 15-1252 - Software Engineering aggregate by role bucket.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, May 2024 and Employment Projections, 2024-2034.

Role

Role function

Engineering From the posting source checked Jun 20, 2026

Seniority

Staff Plus From the posting source checked Jun 20, 2026

Schedule

Shift type

Not verified

Weekend work

Not verified

Company

Equity

Offered From the posting source checked Jun 20, 2026

Application

Cover letter

Not verified

Assessment

Required From the posting source checked Jun 20, 2026

Deadline

Not stated

Where they hire

State eligibility is not yet verified.

About this role

Staff Optical Engineer Playa Vista, California, United States Turning Space into a Transportation Layer for Earth Who We Are: Inversion builds advanced reentry systems to deliver next-generation capabilities from space. Our mission is to make Earth radically more accessible by turning Low-Earth Orbit into an on-demand logistics domain. We see space not as a destination, but as a platform - one that unlocks unprecedented speed and global reach. Our spacecraft are designed to deliver payloads anywhere on Earth in under an hour, operating through extreme reentry conditions and landing with high precision. These systems open the door to new ways of testing, delivering, and operating at hypersonic speeds. Inherently dual-use, our technology is built to meet urgent national security needs while laying the groundwork for future commercial applications. Backed by leading investors including Y Combinator, Spark Capital, and Lockheed Martin Ventures, and working with partners such as the U.S. Space Force and NASA, Inversion is pushing the boundaries of what's possible in space-based defense and logistics. What You'll Do: As a Staff Optical Engineer at Inversion, you will own major elements of the optical systems that enable our vehicles to sense, navigate, and perform in extreme environments. You will lead the development of sensor windows, seeker architectures, and a variety of spectral camera systems from early trades through analysis, integration, and test. This is a unique opportunity to define the optical hardware for first-of-their-kind reentry systems and help ensure it performs when it matters most. In this role, you will:

Read the full description at job-boards.greenhouse.io. FewerJobs shows a preview and links to the original posting.