Senior Autonomy Engineer - State Estimation

lunaroutpost; Golden (CO); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health coverage

Paid time off

401(k) match

Paid holidays

Parental leave

Education reimbursement

Job summary

Lunar Outpost Inc. is seeking a Senior Autonomy Engineer - State Estimation to lead the architecture, development, and validation of the vehicle state estimation stack for lunar rovers.

You will drive Kalman filters, factor graphs, and localization solutions in a multi-disciplinary team focused on safe, reliable autonomy in space. You will mentor engineers, collaborate with sensor and systems teams, and push advances in estimation under challenging lunar conditions, contributing to the Pegasus

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science, Robotic Engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience in state estimation for robotics, autonomy, or aerospace.
• Expertise with EKF, UKF, factor graphs, or smoothing-based methods.
• Experience with global localization or terrain-based localization.
• Proficiency in C++, Python, and ROS.
• Experience leading technical direction or mentoring engineers.
• U.S. Person.
• Experience in perception and localization in unstructured environments.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end state estimation architecture for robotic platforms.
• Lead design, implementation, and validation of state filters.
• Develop and maintain global and relative localization solutions.
• Fuse state measurements and infer dynamic constraints from sources such as terrain features.
• Define estimator interfaces, data products, timing requirements, and covariance conventions.
• Establish estimator performance requirements and failure detection strategies.
• Lead offline analysis and field validation of estimation performance.
• Guide sensor fusion strategies with calibration and latency handling.
• Mentor junior engineers and promote technical excellence.
• Stay at the forefront of autonomy and robotics technology.

Skills

Probabilistic state estimation

EKF/UKF/Factor graphs

Global localization

C++

Python

ROS

Mentoring/leadership

U.S. Person

Education

Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science or Robotic Engineering

Tools

ROS

Job description

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 - State Estimation.

As a part of our State Estimation Team, 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 be responsible for the architecture, development, and verification of the vehicle state estimation stack, including local state filters, global localization methods, and lunar surface state measurement solutions. This role provides technical leadership for a critical subsystem that underpins mobility, autonomy, safety, and mission operations. Collaborating with cross‑disciplinary engineering teams, you'll bring your expertise to solve complex challenges and drive the innovation needed to explore new frontiers in space.

Take the #NextLeap with Lunar Outpost and work on the Pegasus LTV, which will carry NASA astronauts farther than they've ever been before on the lunar surface!

Key Responsibilities:

• Own the end-to-end state estimation architecture for robotic platforms, spanning local state propagation, global localization, outlier rejection, and external measurement integration.
• Lead the design, implementation, and validation of state filters, including extended Kalman filters, factor‑graph optimization, and related probabilistic estimators.
• Develop and maintain both global and relative localization solutions.
• Fuse state measurements from onboard and external sources and infer dynamic constraints on state from sources such as terrain features, vehicle health signals.
• Define estimator interfaces, data products, timing requirements, and covariance conventions for downstream consumers, including planning, control, fault management, and mission operations.
• Establish estimator performance requirements, observability analyses, consistency checks, and failure detection strategies.
• Lead offline analysis and field validation of estimation performance across representative operational scenarios.
• Guide sensor fusion strategies in collaboration with sensor and systems engineering teams, including calibration, latency handling, and fault tolerance.
• Support anomaly investigation, estimator tuning, and root‑cause analysis during integration and field operations.
• 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.
• Mentor junior engineers and promote a culture of technical excellence and innovation within the team.
• Stay at the forefront of autonomy and robotics technology, incorporating the latest advancements into our projects.

Required Qualifications:

• Experience in research and development of perception and localization in unstructured environments.
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science, Robotic Engineering, or related field.
• A minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in developing state estimation systems for robotics, autonomous vehicles, aerospace, or similar domains.
• Demonstrated expertise with probabilistic state estimation techniques, including EKF, UKF, factor graphs, or smoothing‑based methods.
• Experience with global localization or map‑referenced estimation techniques, such as terrain matching, image‑based localization, or absolute navigation methods.
• Strong foundation in estimation theory, uncertainty propagation, observability, and applied filtering.
• Expertise in programming languages such as C++, Python, and familiarity with ROS (Robot Operating System).
• Experience leading technical direction or mentoring engineers on complex algorithmic systems.
• U.S. Person.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Background in GPS‑denied navigation, planetary robotics, or operation in GPS‑denied environments.
• Experience integrating estimation with control systems, planners, or fault management frameworks.
• Experience with photoclinometry, or terrain relative navigation.
• Familiarity with simulation and validation tools for estimation performance analysis.
• Experience with long‑duration autonomy, delayed updates, or intermittent absolute measurements.
• Graduate degree in robotics, aerospace, applied mathematics, or a related discipline.
• Demonstrated ability to work in multidisciplinary teams and communicate effectively across different engineering domains.

Compensation & Benefits: Compensation level and base salary are competitively structured and thoughtfully determined based on factors such as relevant skills, experience, education, and the scope of the role.

• Comprehensive health coverage: Medical, dental, and vision benefits, with 70% of premiums covered by the employer.
• Paid time off: Three (3) weeks per year of vacation.
• Retirement plan: Up to 4% employer match on 401(k) contributions.
• Paid holidays: 11 company‑recognized holidays.
• Parental leave.
• Educational reimbursement opportunities to support company objectives, continued learning, and career development.

Lunar Outpost Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. Lunar Outpost Inc. does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. All employees, including executives and human resources personnel, are expected to conduct themselves with professionalism and treat others with dignity and respect in accordance with this policy.