Erik Levine is the General Manager at CACI’s Optical and Photonics Systems. Formerly SA Photonics, located in Los Gatos, he leads engineering and manufacturing teams that build optical (laser) communication solutions for space and airborne systems. His team of 250+ personnel support commercial, civil space and US national security missions. Prior to CACI, Erik was a Vice President at SpaceLink, an aerospace startup developing the first fully optical communications satellite constellation. Prior to SpaceLink, Erik took a slight departure from aerospace engineering and worked at Intuitive Surgical as a senior program manager responsible for a family of advanced robotic medical instruments throughout their product life cycle (prototype through high volume manufacturing and commercialization). Previously, Erik worked at Maxar (formerly SSL) in a variety of rolls leading to the Executive Director of USG programs. He has extensive experience in program management and systems engineering. Erik has a BS in Applied Mechanical Engineering from UC San Diego, an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Santa Clara University, and a graduate certificate in Space Systems Engineering from Steven’s Institute of Technology.
In addition to supporting SCU as member of the Mechanical Engineering Industry Advisory Board, Erik is member of the Santa Clara County Sheriff Search and Rescue team.