Software Engineer I or II: State Estimation & Prediction

About Lodestar

Lodestar's mission is to develop the first "Protect and Defend" capability for high-value space assets in orbit. Our flagship product MITHRIL is our hardware-agnostic, AI-enabled autonomy software suite that enables us to augment any off-the-shelf spacecraft with the ability to autonomously detect, characterise, and reversibly neutralise orbital threats. By building on the proven space heritage of our best-in-class satellite-bus partners and fully integrating MITHRIL into single unified platform, we deliver an end-to-end, autonomous in-space bodyguarding service.

About the Job

At Lodestar, as a Graduate Software Engineer (I or II): State Estimation & Prediction , you’ll be leading the development of our state estimation and prediction models at the core of Lodestar’s flagship product, MITHRIL . You’ll be focusing on researching and developing algorithms that fuse probabilistic estimation with machine learning to track targets, predict trajectories and assess intent.

We proudly have an "extreme ownership" oriented engineering culture.

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What You’ll Do

- Contribute to the design and implementation of Lodestar's core state estimation and prediction architecture for autonomous spacecraft operations

- Support research into novel estimation and prediction algorithms, from literature review through training and tuning to optimisation and deployment

- Implement, test, and benchmark classical and neural estimators that track the current state and trajectory of multiple dynamic targets in real time

- Build and evaluate neural models that forecast future trajectories and behavioural patterns of targets

- Assist in the development of intent inference models that identify actions and dynamically rank threat levels

- Integrate state estimation and prediction models into mission simulation environments and autonomy decision systems

- Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including perception and on-board autonomy, to ensure prediction fidelity, robustness, and scalability across missions

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Basic Qualifications

- Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Computer Science, Aerospace, Robotics, Applied Mathematics, or a related field, completed within the last 24 months or due to be completed before your start date

- Working proficiency in C++ and Python, evidenced through coursework, research, internships, or personal projects

- Grounding in probabilistic state estimation (Kalman filters, particle filters, Bayesian inference), whether from taught modules, research, or self-directed work

- Practical exposure to a deep learning framework (PyTorch, TensorFlow), including sequence modelling (seq2seq, RNNs, LSTMs, Transformers)

- Familiarity with trajectory modelling, multi-body dynamics, or orbital mechanics

- Demonstrated ability to work through open-ended technical problems and communicate your reasoning clearly

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Preferred Skills & Experience

- Internship, industrial placement, or research assistantship in aerospace, robotics, estimation, or a related field

- A dissertation, thesis, or capstone project in state estimation, sensor fusion, or trajectory forecasting

- Experience applying sequence-to-sequence models to forecasting problems in dynamic environments

- Familiarity with sensor fusion techniques (e.g. combining radar, optical, and inertial data)

- Exposure to GPU acceleration (CUDA, TensorRT) for neural network training and inference

- Experience with Linux, Git, and CI/CD pipelines

- Familiarity with containerisation tools such as Docker and Kubernetes

- Awareness of real-time systems, multi-threading, and performance optimisation

- Understanding of networking and communication protocols for distributed autonomy systems

- Contributions to open-source projects, or participation in student rocketry, CubeSat, robotics, or autonomous vehicle teams

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ITAR Requirements

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., 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. Learn more about the ITAR here .

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Compensation & Benefits

- Our full band structure for this role:

(P1) Entry: $99,000 - $133,000 / year

- (P2) Developing: $115,000 - $174,000 / year

- Meaningful equity incentives as part of our employee option pool

- Flexible PTO with generous paid vacation, holidays, and sick leave

- Comprehensive medical, dental & vision coverage

- 401(k) retirement plan with company match

- Based in Los Angeles

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Additional Information

Compensation bands are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual level and base pay is determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on job-related skills, education, experience, technical capabilities and internal equity. In addition to base salary, for full-time hires, you may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of stock options , and access to medical, vision and dental coverage , as well as access to a 401(k) retirement plan .

Lodestar is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Lodestar is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.