Lead GN&C Software Engineer - Multiple

Satellite imagery is a historically-scarce resource, whose adoption has been slowed by an unbalanced relationship between price and resolution. In theory, frequent, ultra high-resolution imagery of Earth has near infinite applications; in reality, only a sliver of that potential has been realized.

Albedo aims to be the catalyst in unlocking satellite imagery’s latent potential, hoping to expand current applications and propel the discovery of new use cases. Whether our imagery is being used to reduce wildfire risk, assess the environmental impact of global forestry, contribute to timely 3D reconstructions of urban areas, or monitor carbon emissions from industrial power plants, our mission is to get better data into the hands of decision makers fast. We’re modernizing how satellite imagery is used by providing near real-time access to our ultra-high resolution data.

What We’re Up To:  Albedo is developing a novel approach to the earth observation industry, both in space and with our business model. We are intentionally doing things differently by taking (calculated) risks, trying new things, and moving with speed. Our team believes satellite imagery is a valuable resource that should be made accessible, in every sense of the word. We are committed to our customers, ensuring that what we’re building is what they want. We are playing at the edges of how traditional New Space technologies have been approached, and we want to shake up the industry as it stands today.

Who We’re Looking For:  Albedo is launching next-generation, ultra high-resolution imaging satellites to service a global audience through a modern, cloud-based product interface. In order to achieve this goal, we are looking for a team of people who are both passionate about our mission and are willing to put in the work to design, develop, and test an innovative earth observation concept in the commercial industry. The times ahead will be set in a fast-paced, often uncertain environment, but if you are hard-working, kind, and team-oriented, you can expect a rewarding and purposeful experience.

About You/What You’ll Do:

You are a software engineer with a deep understanding of attitude or orbit control, and you can put your knowledge to practice by creating robust code

Your flight software will be the autonomous driver for the F1 race-car of the commercial space imaging world

Required Skills or Experience:

• Familiar with guidance, navigation, and control systems for spacecraft or aircraft (or similar)
• Familiar with quaternion kinematics  
• Ability to develop robust, modular, maintainable, and testable code in Python or C/C++ either manually or via auto-coding tools
• Highly experienced in one or more of the following:
• Extended Kalman filters used in real-time and offline attitude and orbit determination applications
• Advanced techniques for accurate short-term orbit prediction and extrapolation, including propagation, fitting/splining, and smoothing
• Software framework for flight control: schedulers, hardware drivers, sensor or actuator processing, fault detection, and state machines for mode control 
• Demonstrated knowledge of the tools and processes used in developing software for real-time, deterministic, embedded control systems

Desirable Skills or Experience:

• Experience with pointing architecture or algorithms used on a scanning imaging satellite = mega plus
• Experience working with suppliers, providing close technical guidance and/ or co-developing software
• Experience with tuning feed-back and feed-ahead control algorithms via Bode, Nichols, Quantitative-feedback Theory (QFT), root locus, or phase-plane or related techniques
• Ability to design and implement FIR, discrete-sample-time filters
• Familiar with optimal control, MIMO system analysis and state space synthesis techniques
• Familiar with advanced distribution laws or inverse kinematics models

Additional Requirements: In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire. All persons hired will be required to be a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., or protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Albedo is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Questions? Feedback? Feel free to email us at careers @ albedo.com