Senior Instrument Calibration Scientist

Muon Space; Mountain View (CA); Hybrid; USD 184,000 - 223,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity compensation

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

3 weeks paid vacation + 12 holidays

Job summary

Muon Space in Mountain View, CA seeks a Senior Instrument Calibration Scientist to lead radiometric/geometric calibration of infrared remote sensing instruments. Hybrid work requires three days on-site weekly, with rapid development of calibration infrastructure and cross-team collaboration.

The candidate will plan pre-launch campaigns, develop sensor performance models, and contribute to data products while supporting on-call operations and continuous improvement in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. with 3+ years in imaging or infrared remote sensing instrumentation.
• Hands-on experience with precision optical equipment for calibration.
• Experience in data analysis, post-processing, and test reporting.
• Excellent communication, presentation and organizational skills.

Responsibilities

• Own radiometric and geometric calibration standards across programs.
• Lead design of scalable calibration test hardware infrastructure.
• Plan and execute pre-launch calibration campaigns and models.
• Support metrics tracking for instrument performance from ground to orbit.
• Collaborate with engineers, data scientists and program managers.
• Participate in a 24/7 on-call rotation for on-orbit support.

Skills

Python

Julia

C++

Data analysis

Communication

Education

Ph.D.

M.S.

B.S.

Job description

About The Role

Muon seeks a Senior Instrument Calibration Scientist to join our team in Mountain View, CA with a focus on calibration of infrared remote sensing instruments. The ideal candidate is a self-motivated engineer or scientist with a versatile skill set who is comfortable working across many layers of technical depth. This role will be a key member of the instrument team, establishing scalable calibration hardware infrastructure and processes to ensure delivery of science-grade radiometric and geometric calibration artifacts to the data team. Previous experience developing and operating infrared electro-optical systems, remote sensing instruments, and test infrastructure in fast-paced and small-team environments is preferred.

This position is hybrid and requires working on-site in our Mountain View, CA office three days per week.

Responsibilities

• Own radiometric and geometric calibration standards across multiple instrument programs, developing best practices and ensuring adherence to defined processes.
• Lead the design and development of scalable calibration test hardware infrastructure.
• Lead the planning and execution of pre-launch radiometric and geometric calibration campaigns to establish baseline sensor performance models.
• Support definition and tracking of metrics to monitor the performance of instruments from ground to orbit.
• Collaborate and communicate effectively with instrument and spacecraft systems engineers, data scientists, mission operations engineers, and program managers.
• This position participates in a 24/7 on-call rotation to support on-orbit anomaly resolution. The on-call rotation is approximately one week per month.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. and 3+ years of experience developing imaging systems and infrared remote sensing instruments within a multi-disciplinary environment; or M.S. and 6+ years industry experience; or B.S. and 8+ years industry experience.
• Software skills in one or more languages (e.g. Python, Julia, C++).
• Experience working hands-on with precision optical equipment for instrument characterization and calibration.
• Experience with root cause analysis efforts including data analysis and testing.
• Experience performing data analysis, post-processing, and test report generation.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and organization skills.
• Excited to work in a fast-paced environment with new challenges each week.

Nice-to-have Skills

• Experience supporting business development including technical contributions to proposals.
• Experience translating mission and science requirements into technical requirements.
• Experience developing instrument concept of operations (ConOps).
• Experience working in cleanroom environments.
• Experience supporting environmental testing (thermal stress screening, TVAC, random vibration), integrated spacecraft testing, and launch campaigns.

Salary

The salary range for this role is $184,000 - $223,000 plus a competitive equity grant and comprehensive benefits package. Final compensation will be based on skills, qualifications, experience, and geographic location as assessed during the interview process.

About Muon Space

Founded in 2021, Muon Space is an end‑to‑end Space Systems Provider that designs, builds, and operates LEO satellite constellations delivering mission‑critical data. Our revolutionary, integrated technology stack enables customers to optimize every dimension of their missions for faster time‑to‑orbit and superior constellation remote sensing performance. Our state‑of‑the‑art facility in the heart of Silicon Valley is optimized for manufacturing spacecraft and rapid, flexible payload integration at scale. From climate monitoring to national security, Muon Space is dedicated to delivering Earth Intelligence for a safer and more resilient world.

Taking Care of Our Team

At Muon salary is only part of our total compensation package. In addition to salary, full‑time employees receive equity compensation as well as benefits including medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401k retirement plan, short & long term disability and life insurance. We also offer three weeks paid vacation for new employees, along with 12 paid holidays, unlimited sick time and paid parental leave.

Our mission embraces the entire planet and we believe our team should too. Muon is dedicated to creating a diverse and dynamic company and workforce. We believe in equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, age, national origin, citizenship, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or gender identity. We value diversity in the workplace, and that starts with our applicants. In addition, if you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know.

ITAR/EAR Requirements

This position requires access to export controlled information. To conform to U.S. Government export regulations applicable to that information, applicant must either be (A) a U.S. person, defined as a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (green card holder), (iii) refugee under 8 U.S.C.

• 1157, or (iv) asylee under 8 U.S.C.
• 1158, (B) eligible to access the export controlled information without a required export authorization, or (C) eligible and reasonably likely to obtain the required export authorization from the applicable U.S. government agency. The Company may, for legitimate business reasons, decline to pursue any export licensing process.