Autonomy Systems Engineer

As a GN&C Systems Engineer, you will play a pivotal role in developing cutting-edge autonomous navigation and control systems for our lunar rovers. Working at the intersection of autonomy, robotics, and space exploration, you will aid in defining, documenting, and verifying the integrity of sophisticated software solutions that enable our rovers to operate independently on the lunar surface. Your work will not only contribute to groundbreaking missions but also to technologies that have the potential to benefit humanity on Earth. Collaborating with cross-disciplinary engineering teams, you'll bring your expertise to solve complex challenges and drive the innovation needed to explore new frontiers. Take the #NextLeap with Lunar Outpost and work on the Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV), which will carry NASA astronauts farther than they've ever been before on the lunar surface! 

Key Responsibilities: 

• Work with technical leads to define and document autonomous navigation, control systems, and decision-making algorithms for lunar rovers

• Contribute to systems engineering processes, including requirement decomposition, traceability, system interfaces, and verification & validation (V&V)

• Participate in milestone design reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, etc), trade studies, and technical risk assessments

• Develop and maintain technical documentation, including ICDs and V&V plans

• Collaborate with systems, mechanical, electrical, avionics, and thermal engineering teams to integrate and optimize autonomy software with rover hardware

• Analyze data to improve autonomous system performance and reliability under various lunar conditions

• Support rigorous testing campaigns to verify the safety of autonomous systems through hardware-in-the-loop simulations and field-testing

• Identify, propose, and implement process improvements to streamline robotics development

• Ensure software systems adhere to industry standards for safety, reliability, and performance in space exploration contexts

• Stay at the forefront of autonomy, robotics, and control technology, incorporating the latest advancements into our projects

Required Qualifications: 

• A minimum of 3 years of relevant professional experience in developing autonomy software for autonomous systems, with a proven track record in navigation, perception, or belief space planning. Applicants should have expertise in at least one of the following areas: 

  • swarm task allocation and coordination
  • Belief space planning and decision making (e.g., BRM, RRBT, POMDP solvers)
  • State estimation (e.g,. EKF and its variants, factor graph optimization, LLS)
  • Cooperative localization (e.g,. range or angular-based measurements, distributed estimators)
  • Robust sensor fusion and outlier rejection

• Experience in research and development of perception, localization, and controls in unstructured environments

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Robotics, Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, or related field 

• Expertise in programming languages such as C++, Python, and familiarity with ROS (Robot Operating System) 

• Hands-On experience Integrating software with sensors, actuators, or embedded systems 

• U.S. Person

 Preferred Qualifications: 

• Master’s or Ph.D in a field relevant to autonomy, robotics, or AI, with research or projects directly applicable to autonomous navigation or robotics

• Experience with autonomous systems in space, or other extreme, unstructured environments

• Familiarity with GPU acceleration, FPGA integration, or real-time OS environments

• Experience with industry standards such as MISRA & DO-178B

• Familiarity with SLAM, POMDPs, or other advanced planning and decision-making frameworks

• Demonstrated ability to work in multidisciplinary teams and communicate effectively across different engineering domains

Any offer of employment for this position is conditional upon Lunar Outpost receiving the LTVS Phase II contract from NASA. If the contract is not awarded to Lunar Outpost, this offer will be considered null and void, without further obligation to Lunar Outpost.

Lunar Outpost is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate against protected characteristics (gender, age, sexual orientation, race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, disability, veteran status). We want all employees (including executives and HR) to treat others with respect and professionalism.