Software Engineer, Lodestar
Perception
$140-180k
+ Equity
More information about location
Space research technology
Be an early applicant
Space research technology
1-20 employees
Be an early applicant
$140-180k
+ Equity
More information about location
1-20 employees
Company mission
To provide autonomous and highly dexterous capabilities to inspect, protect, and repair the world's most critical assets in orbit today while building the space infrastructure of tomorrow.
Role
Who you are
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in, AI/ML, Computer Science, Robotics, a related field, or equivalent experience
- 2+ years of distinguished industry experience in Machine Learning, robotics, computer vision, or a related field
- Excellent software engineering skills in C++ and Python
- Strong DNN/ML background and experience in CV and image processing libraries (OpenCV, CUDA-accelerated vision, PCL)
- Broad understanding of modern perception systems and their architecture
- Experience developing and deploying ML models to real-time systems
- Willingness to work extended hours and weekends as necessary to support critical project milestones and deadlines
Desirable
- Experience processing sensor measurements from a variety of sensors including RADAR, electro-optical sensors, RF sensors, or LIDAR
- Familiarity with image processing techniques (e.g., feature extraction, segmentation, filtering, stereo matching) to support 3D reconstruction and target classification
- Track record optimizing neural networks and geometric algorithms using CUDA kernels, TensorRT, or other GPU acceleration frameworks
- Experience with distributed training and cloud-based scaling of ML models (AWS, GCP, or Azure)
- Experience with Linux, Git, and CI/CD pipelines
- Comfortable with containerization tools such as Docker and Kubernetes
- Strong understanding of networking and communication protocols for distributed autonomy systems
What the job involves
- As a Software Engineer - Perception at Lodestar you’ll be joining the perception and machine visions teams to rapidly grow our vision and perception models at MITHRIL’s center
- You’ll focus on researching and building algorithms to detect, classify and understand unknown space targets in real-time
- By combining computer vision, image processing and machine learning, you’ll develop custom models - providing the foundation for autonomous decision-making in complex and uncertain space environments
- Scoping architecture for the perception system core to Lodestar’s autonomy software suite
- Research and adapt novel perception algorithms - everything from lit. review, through training and evaluation, to optimisation and deployment
- Design, develop ML algorithms from the ground up, in addition to build on and optimizing our existing models for edge computing
- Further develop our robust methods for predicting relative pose of dynamic space targets in harsh and unpredictable visual environments
- Integrate perception models into mission simulation environments and real-time autonomy pipelines
- Contribute to the design of realistic sensor models and digital twins to improve perception fidelity in mission scenarios
- Own perception tooling, model training infrastructure, and evaluation frameworks for ongoing development and deployment
- Collaborate across autonomy, estimation, and mission software teams to ensure perception fidelity, performance, and scalability
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.
With substantial funding secured, it is clear investors are optimistic about the company's potential. Future goals include developing a flight-ready robotic arm and expanding to the US market to attract attention from the Department of Defense, as well as meeting the growing demand for sovereign space solutions in Europe.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Company
Funding (1 round)
Jul 2024
$2.5m
SEED
Total funding: $2.5m
Company benefits
- Equity pool options
- Vibrant, open-plan office in London
- 28 Days Annual Leave
- Private Medical Insurance
- Personal Development Opportunities
Company HQ
Westminster, London, UK
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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