Attitude Guidance & Performance Engineer

Loft Orbital; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Loft Orbital in San Francisco, CA, seeks an Attitude Guidance & Performance Engineer to serve as the technical authority for ADCS performance, guidance algorithms, and attitude control across Loft missions.

You will work with mission teams, customers, and spacecraft suppliers to define performance requirements, develop and validate guidance solutions, support in-orbit operations, and resolve complex attitude control challenges.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of proven experience as an attitude control architect or engineer.
• Strong communication and organizational skills.
• Experience in a fast-paced development environment.
• Hands-on and able to perform under pressure.
• Extensive knowledge of Python.

Responsibilities

• Work with Programs Lead Systems Engineers to define performance requirements, consolidate budgets, and ADCS allocations;
• Develop and validate the attitude guidance algorithms (on-ground or in orbit);
• Develop the ADCS calibration strategy;
• Coordinate with the bus suppliers to ensure a follow-up and anomaly resolution;
• Support customer interactions for ADCS performance;
• Be the technical reference for attitude control matters for the in-orbit fleet;
• Diagnose and troubleshoot the ADCS anomalies.

Skills

ADCS

Python

Communication

Organization

Hands-on

Attitude control

Job description

Wanna join the adventure? Are you passionate about spacecraft attitude control, guidance, and mission performance? If so, this is the perfect role for you!

Wanna join the adventure? Are you passionate about spacecraft attitude control, guidance, and mission performance? If so, this is the perfect role for you! Loft flies multiple satellites per year and is building the next generation of guidance and attitude control capabilities across a growing fleet of spacecraft. We're looking for an Attitude Guidance & Performance Engineer to serve as the technical authority for ADCS performance, guidance algorithms, and attitude control across Loft missions. This role requires expertise in attitude dynamics, guidance and control, and on-orbit operations. You'll work closely with mission teams, customers, and spacecraft suppliers to define performance requirements, develop and validate guidance solutions, support in-orbit operations, and resolve complex attitude control challenges. You'll help build a common guidance service that interfaces with multiple spacecraft platforms, supports diverse customer missions, and enables increasingly agile spacecraft operations.

About the Role

• Work with Programs Lead Systems Engineers to define performance requirements, consolidate budgets, and ADCS allocations;
• Develop and validate the attitude guidance algorithms (on-ground or in orbit);
• Develop the ADCS calibration strategy;
• Coordinate with the bus suppliers to ensure a follow-up and anomaly resolution;
• Support customer interactions for ADCS performance;
• Be the technical reference for attitude control matters for the in-orbit fleet;
• Diagnose and troubleshoot the ADCS anomalies.

Must Haves

• You have 5+ years of proven experience as an attitude control architect or engineer;
• You possess strong communication and organizational skills;
• You challenge conventional aerospace engineering and testing practices, and/or have experience in a fast-paced development environment;
• You perform well under pressure and are always ready to be hands-on;
• You have extensive knowledge of Python.

Nice to Haves

• Experience with Flight / Orbital Dynamics, in addition to attitude control
• Experience with Earth Observation missions
• International experience
• Research shows that while men apply to jobs where they meet an average of 60% of the criteria, women and other underrepresented people tend to only apply when they meet 100% of the qualifications. At Loft, we value respectful debate and people who aren’t afraid to challenge assumptions. We strongly encourage you to apply, even if you don’t check all the boxes

Who We Are

Loft: Space Made Simple.

Founded in 2017, Loft provides governments, companies, and research institutions with a fast, reliable, and simple way to deploy missions in orbit.

We integrate, launch, and operate spacecraft, offering end-to-end missions as a service across Earth observation, IoT connectivity, on-orbit AI, national security missions, and more. Leveraging our existing space infrastructure and an extensive inventory of satellite buses, Loft is reducing years-long integration and launch timelines to months. With more than 30 missions flown, Loft’s flight heritage and proven technologies enable customers to focus on their mission objectives.

With a growing fleet on track to reach 30 satellites by 2027, we are scaling up quickly across our offices in San Francisco, CA | Golden, CO | and Toulouse, France to meet accelerating demand for space infrastructure.

As an international company your resume will be reviewed by people across our offices so please attach a copy in English.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

State law requires us to tell you the base compensation range for this role, which is $130,000- $190,000 per year in California. This is determined by your education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities. The salary range for this role is intentionally wide as we evaluate individuals based on their unique experience and abilities to fit our needs. Most importantly, we are excited to meet you, and see if you are a great fit for our team. What we can’t quantify for you are the exciting challenges, supportive team, and amazing culture we enjoy.