Role Overview:As a Field Engineer at Aalyria, you'll be the critical link between our technology, both Tightbeam and Spacetime, and the customers who depend on it for mission success. This isn't a single-platform role. One week you might be aligning a Tightbeam laser terminal; the next, standing up a Spacetime-orchestrated SATCOM integration. Whatever the mission requires, you'll be the person deploying to the field to install, configure, troubleshoot, and integrate the right system for the job. You'll be the engineer customers trust to make it work flawlessly, in real-world conditions, under real-world pressure.
We're deliberately hiring for breadth over narrow specialization. This role is built as a shared, flexible resource across Spacetime and Tightbeam. The range you develop here is what lets you, and our broader field engineering team, move fluidly to wherever the mission needs you most.
The strongest Field Engineers move comfortably across electronics, software, optics, RF, mechanisms, and cabling. That range is exactly what allows our team to flex between Spacetime and Tightbeam as business needs shift. Even if you're expected to focus primarily on one platform, we want you to bring, or be eager to build, skills relevant to the other. That overlap isn't a distraction from your core role; it's a genuine asset.
Key Responsibilities:- Deploy to customer sites, test ranges, and demo locations to set up, configure, and operate both Tightbeam free-space optical terminals and Spacetime/SATCOM systems
- Lead site surveys, installation, optical alignment, configuration, and commissioning for terrestrial, airborne, shipborne, and satellite communications deployments
- Perform hands-on mechanical assembly and integration across a variety of hardware and mechanisms
- Perform (or be trained to perform) optical fiber termination and handling work
- Set up and configure SATCOM terminals, and integrate Tightbeam and/or SATCOM terminals into a customer's existing network environment
- Troubleshoot complex issues spanning optical subsystems, RF/transceiver behavior, mechanical mounts, and network integration, often in time-sensitive field environments, using engineering-level debug interfaces
- Monitor systems during demos and test events; track, download, and interpret performance data in real time
- Perform basic Linux system administration: installing packages, updating software, identifying missing dependencies, and conducting first-level debugging
- Support equipment teardown, data collection, and post-event field reporting to inform internal teams of deployment conditions, performance, and lessons learned
- Collaborate with R&D, Solutions Architects, and Mission Engineers to translate field feedback into product improvements and ensure successful customer onboarding
- Deliver technical training and documentation (alignment guides, maintenance procedures) to customer engineering teams as needed
- Support pre-sales engineering through technical demonstrations and proof-of-concept deployments
Required Qualifications:- Willingness to travel domestically and internationally for field deployments (up to 50%), sometimes on short notice
- Comfort working hands-on with a variety of mechanical hardware and mechanisms
- Working familiarity with both RF and optical communications and transceiver fundamentals
- Willingness and aptitude to be trained on optical fiber termination and handling work
- Familiarity with networking protocols (Ethernet, TCP/IP, IPv4/IPv6) sufficient to integrate a terminal into a customer's network
- Ability to quickly learn and navigate engineering-level and debug user interfaces
- Comfort with Linux and able to install packages, update software, identify missing dependencies, and perform basic troubleshooting
- Strong communication skills, able to explain technical concepts to both engineers and non-technical stakeholders
- A proactive, independent problem-solving mindset, comfortable in diverse and sometimes challenging field environments
Preferred Qualifications:- Direct hands-on experience setting up and configuring SATCOM terminals (GEO bent-pipe through fully regenerative systems, including Starlink-class systems)
- Hands-on experience with free-space optical systems, laser communications, or high-speed photonics deployments
- Hands-on experience with point-to-point or point-to-multipoint RF wireless systems
- Familiarity with optical alignment techniques, beam propagation, and atmospheric effects (turbulence, scattering, absorption) on optical links
- Proficiency with optical test and measurement equipment (power meters, spectrum analyzers, interferometers, beam profilers)
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Software Engineering, Optical Engineering, Electrical/Communications Engineering, Physics, Photonics, or a related discipline
- Active U.S. Secret security clearance, or ability to obtain one
- Experience in aerospace, defense, satellite communications, or telecom domains
What We Offer:- Innovative Environment: Work at a cutting-edge company shaping the future of aerospace communications.
- Impactful Work: Directly contribute to critical national security programs and initiatives.
- Growth Opportunities: Expand your career with opportunities for professional development and advancement.
- Inclusive Culture: Be part of a collaborative, supportive, and inclusive workplace where your contributions matter.
- Flexibility: Flexible working arrangements including hybrid remote/in-office schedules.
- Compensation and Equity: Competitive salary, comprehensive benefits (401(k), dental, vision, health, life insurance), paid time off, and equity options.
ITAR/EAR Requirements:This position involves access to export-controlled information. To comply with U.S. government export regulations, applicants must meet one of the following criteria:
(A) Qualify as a U.S. person, which includes:
- U.S. citizen or national
- U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder)
- Refugee under 8 U.S.C. 1157
- Asylee under 8 U.S.C. 1158
(B) Be eligible to access export-controlled information without requiring an export authorization.
(C) Be eligible and reasonably likely to obtain the necessary export authorization from the appropriate U.S. government agency.
The company reserves the right to decline pursuing an export licensing process for legitimate business-related reasons.
The pay range for this role is:
140,000 - 170,000 USD per year (Remote (United States))
