Skip to content

Open nowPosted 3 days agoWe saw it 114 min after it went up

Laser Engineer

foundational28 open roles

Where
London
Work mode
On site
Get the CV for this job

From $25 per CV, paid once. No subscription.

Your applicationOpen nowLaser Engineerfoundational · London
  1. YouYes, apply to this one.

  2. CV RocketCV written for this posting.

  3. 25 readersRecruiter, hiring manager, skeptic. Round after round.

  4. CV RocketApplied on foundational's own form.

The reply lands in your private mailbox

3×more interviews than doing it yourself with ChatGPT.

The clock on this job

Early applications get read.

7.8% of postings close within 7 days. Measured by our own scanner across the market.

Share of postings closed within
  1. 1.7%1 day
  2. 3.5%3 days
  3. 7.8%7 days
  4. 14.6%14 days
  5. 34.1%30 days
This job: posted 3 days ago

The posting

SENIOR OPTICAL ENGINEER

This is a future role. We're building a shortlist now and will contact you when it opens.

About us

Foundational is building the most precise picture of Earth and orbit, using lasers fired from the ground. We call it ground truth for orbit.

We design and run low-cost, autonomous satellite laser ranging stations. They measure the distance to satellites with extreme precision, day and night. Our data platform turns those measurements into tracking data and orbit products for satellite operators, space agencies and governments. We also build our own flight-proven laser retroreflector arrays, so any satellite can be tracked.

Our station network is expanding across Europe, South America, Africa and Australia. The data supports resilient navigation, Earth observation and the safe, sustainable use of space.

We're a small, fast-moving team of engineers, scientists and operators in London. We're backed by venture investors and supported by ESA, the UK Space Agency, Innovate UK and the European Innovation Council.

Position Overview

London · Full time · On-site

Pulsed lasers are the heart of satellite laser ranging. You'll own the laser subsystem in our stations: selection, integration and reliability, plus the supply chain behind it.

What you'll do

- Specify, select and qualify pulsed laser sources with suppliers

- Integrate lasers into the station, including beam delivery, cooling, power, control and safety interlocks

- Characterise laser performance, and build test rigs to track it over the station's life

- Improve reliability so lasers run unattended at remote sites

- Manage laser damage risk across the optical train with the optics team

- Support laser safety cases and documentation for each site

What you'll bring

- Experience working with short-pulse solid-state or fibre lasers, in industry or research

- Beam characterisation skills: M², pulse width, energy and pointing stability

- Laser safety knowledge (IEC 60825 or equivalent)

- Confidence working with suppliers on specifications and failure investigations

Nice to have

- Satellite laser ranging or lidar experience

- Laser-induced damage threshold testing

- Harmonic generation

- Lasers deployed in the field

What We Offer

- A high-impact role with real ownership at an early-stage, venture-backed spacetech company

- EMI share options (UK employees)

- 25 Days Annual Leave + Bank Holidays

- Enhanced Parental Leave

- Cycle to work schemes

- Work alongside engineers and scientists across optics, lasers, software and astrodynamics

- Offices in central London, with snacks, tea, coffee and regular socials

We actively champion underrepresented groups and seek to bridge gaps in our workforce. If you're excited by the role but don't match every point, or you’re seeking a part time role, please apply anyway and add a note into your application. Building the best team is our priority.

From $25, paid onceGet the CV for this job

What happens when you press

One press. We do the rest.

  1. A CV for this posting

    Written against foundational's own wording, from every piece of relevant proof in your profile.

  2. 25 readers review it

    Recruiter, hiring manager, skeptic and more read every draft, round after round. You get the best round.

    The review screen in CV Rocket: how each CV was read, round by round.
  3. We apply on foundational's form

    Our application engine gets through the hardest forms there are. Where a question needs you, AI suggests the best answer. Don't want us applying from our IP addresses? Use our Chrome extension: we apply straight from your own browser.

    An application in CV Rocket: every answer filled in on the employer's form.
  4. Every reply, sorted

    foundational's answer lands in your private mailbox, and we classify it on arrival: interview, question, rejection.

    The CV Rocket inbox: each employer reply classified as an interview, an action or a rejection.
  5. Reply with AI

    AI helps you write the email, checks it and sends it. We show you whether the recruiter read it.

  6. The interview in your calendar

    Full integration with your calendar. The invitation goes straight in.

    An interview invitation in the CV Rocket inbox, added to the candidate's calendar.
Get the CV for this job

From $25 per CV, paid once. No subscription.

Why it works

3×

more interviews than doing it yourself with ChatGPT.

ChatGPT writes a CV and never learns what happened to it. We see every reply. For each CV we know:

  • How it was written, and how the review scored it
  • When we applied, and how long after the posting went up
  • Which posting, which company, which city
  • Who got the interview, and who heard nothing

That is how we know which CVs get called.

Get the CV for this job

From $25 per CV, paid once. No subscription.

The numbers game

More applications. More interviews.

Every application goes out with its own CV, written for that posting and paid once. Send enough of them and the law of large numbers finds you the job.

By hand5–10
With CV Rocket100
applications a day

Nearby

Live postings like this one

Same employer first, then the same role elsewhere.

Before you press

Straight answers

Get the CV for this job

From $25 per CV, paid once. No subscription.

What if my background isn't good enough?

We make the most of the background you have. The CV uses every piece of relevant proof your profile holds, and one of the 25 readers reads your whole profile and flags what the CV left out.

Do you really apply for me?

Yes, on the employer's own form, the hardest ones included. Where a question needs you, you answer it right there and AI suggests the best answer. Don't want us applying from our IP addresses? Use our Chrome extension: we apply straight from your own browser.

Is it a subscription?

No. You pay once per CV, from $25. Every application goes out with its own CV, written for that posting.

One job. One CV.
Paid once.

Pick the posting you want. We write for it, apply for you and catch the reply.

Get the CV for this job

From $25 per CV, paid once. No subscription.