Senior Autonomy Engineer

Are you passionate about shaping the future of humanity's presence in space? Lunar Outpost, a trailblazer in space robotics, invites you to join our team! Lunar Outpost is dedicated to creating a sustainable presence in space, while also driving positive impacts here on Earth. We are seeking a talented, experienced Senior Autonomy Engineer. As a Senior Autonomy Engineer, you will play a pivotal role in developing cutting-edge autonomous navigation and control systems for our lunar rovers and orbital assets. Working at the intersection of autonomy, robotics, and space exploration, you will design, develop, and implement sophisticated software solutions that enable the coordination of cross-domain autonomous systems. 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 will help drive the integration of these systems into a unified, state-of-the-art autonomy stack, pushing the boundaries of what's possible in space exploration. 

Key Responsibilities 

• Lead the design and development of decentralized navigation and decision-making algorithms for lunar rover and orbital assets
• Develop and implement robust software that enables autonomous operations in challenging lunar environments
• Collaborate with systems, mechanical, electrical, and thermal engineering teams to integrate and optimize autonomy software with asset hardware
• Utilize simulation techniques to improve autonomous system performance and reliability under various conditions in space
• Conduct field tests and simulations to validate and refine algorithms and software systems
• Ensure software systems adhere to industry standards for safety, reliability, and performance in space exploration contexts
• Develop and maintain technical documentation, including ICDs and verification plans
• Participate in design reviews, trade studies, and technical risk assessments
• Stay at the forefront of autonomy and robotics technology, incorporating the latest advancements into our projects

Required Qualifications 

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

• A minimum of 5 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: 

  • 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

  • Belief space planning (e.g., BRM, RRBT, POMDP solvers)

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

• Comfortable working in research-oriented, agile, and interdisciplinary teams

• Track record of innovation in networking, robotics, or space systems, as demonstrated by patents, publications, or significant project achievements 

• Exceptional ability to communicate complex technical concepts and collaborate across various engineering disciplines

• U.S. Person

Preferred Qualifications 

• M.S. or Ph.D. in a field relevant to autonomy or robotics, directly applicable to autonomous navigation and guidance 

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

• Familiarity with space operating systems (e.g., VxWorks) and software (e.g., cFS)

• Familiarity with containers (e.g., Docker) and virtualization software (e.g., VirtualBox)

• Familiarity with sensor interfaces

• Familiarity with sensor calibration and signal modelling (e.g., atmospheric effects, delays)

• Experience with the end-to-end development and deployment of network software systems in space exploration missions

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.