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 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 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. 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 <span data-ccp-props="{"201