Avionics Software Engineer, Lodestar
£30-80k
+ Equity. Salary dependent on experience
Space research technology
Open for applications
Space research technology
1-20 employees
Open for applications
£30-80k
+ Equity. Salary dependent on experience
1-20 employees
Company mission
To deliver orbital defence as a service to high-value US and allied assets.
Role
Who you are
- BEng/MEng in Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent experience
- Strong proficiency in developing modern C++ for Linux
- Strong experience with SoC platforms (such as Nvidia Jetsons) or other similar embedded platforms
- Strong communicator and self-starter; able to work independently and in a collaborative team
- Demonstrated skills in debugging and performance characterisation
- Experience with Linux, Git, and CI/CD pipelines
Desirable
- Good understanding of communication protocols
- Familiarity with containerisation tools (e.g. Docker, Kubernetes) and OTA updates
- Experience with BSP generation, real-time kernel configuration, build and deployment processes
- Background with the space industry
- Demonstrated strong problem-solving skills and ability to work in a fast-paced environment
- Proven experience in system integration and working with multidisciplinary teams
What the job involves
- We seek a talented Embedded Systems Engineer to design, develop, and deploy software for space applications
- If you have a solid background in modern C++ development, embedded Linux experience, and want to play a critical role in advancing autonomy for space applications, we want to hear from you
- Design and take ownership of core flight software for advanced space payloads and mission-critical systems
- Be involved in low level software development including device drivers and board bring-up
- Develop updatable, fault-tolerant software to support complex autonomous operations in orbit
- Prototype and validate key system concepts to de-risk development and establish technical feasibility and performance bounds
- Build toward a scalable, modular, and reusable software stack that enables rapid iteration and future mission extensibility
- Collaborate closely with hardware and AI/ML teams to enable seamless integration
- Drive continuous improvement through iterative testing, data-driven feedback loops, and system-level refinement
Salary benchmarks
Our take
Satellites are critical for services ranging from GPS to disaster coordination. But they face significant vulnerabilities due to their inaccessibility, making them susceptible to technical issues and attacks. Addressing these concerns is essential for maintaining space infrastructure and national security.
Lodestar aims to revolutionise satellite maintenance and security with a "first responder" service in space, utilising advanced robotic sentries. Unlike competitors building entire spacecraft, Lodestar focuses on a platform-agnostic robotic system. Its initial product, a dexterous robotic arm, is designed to inspect and repair assets in orbit, offering scalable solutions for commercial and defence customers.
The company has continued to advance it s autonomous in-orbit capabilities, including Mithril, a sensing system using LiDAR, machine vision, adn AI to detec and respond to nearby spacecraft, with flight demonstrations planned for 2026. The company has also partnered with Momentus to integrate its robotic arm on partner spacecraft, expanding applications across commercial and defense missions. These developments reinforce Lodestar's role in delivering scalable, autonomous solutions for satellite inspection, maintenance, and security.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Company
Funding (2 rounds)
Dec 2025
$0.1m
GRANT
Jul 2024
$2.5m
SEED
Total funding: $2.6m
Company HQ
SoMa, San Francisco, CA
Leadership
Neil Buchanan
(Co-Founder)Graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering. Previously founded endeavour where they served as Team Lead for 2 years. They also worked as a Business Development Specialist at Flowcopter.
Thomas Santini
(Co-Founder)Previously Co-founded Dekked. They also worked as a Product Manager at Backslash Build and Nutribloc, and as an RDD New Product Design Engineer at Dyson.
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