Software Engineer I,II,III: Simulations

Lodestar Space; El Segundo (CA); Hybrid; USD 136,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Meaningful equity incentives

Flexible PTO

Medical, dental & vision coverage

401(k) retirement plan with company 6%

Job summary

Lodestar Space is seeking a Software Engineer: Simulation to build and validate the autonomy stack's simulation environment. You will create high-fidelity sensor models and run hardware-in-the-loop benches, enabling CI-friendly, reproducible mission runs.

The role spans from I to III levels, emphasizing C++, Python, ROS 2, and Linux-based workflows. The team values extreme ownership and robust distributed simulation tooling.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Aerospace, Robotics, Mechanical or Electrical Engineering, or related field
• Experience in simulation, robotics, or games is described for multiple levels
• Strong programming in C++ and Python is required

Responsibilities

• Build and extend the mission simulation environment that Lodestar's autonomy stack is developed and validated against
• Develop high-fidelity sensor and environment models - electro-optical cameras, orbital lighting and illumination
• Build software-in-the-loop and hardware-in-the-loop test benches so that flight software can be trialed against realistic simulated missions
• Design distributed simulation services to run mission scenarios at scale
• Own the internal simulation tooling, telemetry, and regression frameworks

Skills

C++

Python

ROS 2

Multithreading

Unreal Engine

Linux

Docker

Education

Bachelor\'s or Master\'s degree in Computer Science or Engineering

Tools

ROS 2

Unreal Engine

Job description

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 the critical hardware & software necessary 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 as a single platform, we deliver a fully autonomous end-to-end protection spacecraft service.

About the Job

At Lodestar, as a Software Engineer: Simulation, you'll build the environment in which MITHRIL is developed, tested and proven. Every autonomy behaviour we fly is validated in simulation first, which makes the simulator one of the highest-leverage pieces of software in the company: if it isn't faithful, nothing downstream can be trusted.

You’ll develop high-fidelity sensor and environment models in Unreal Engine, stand up the software‑and‑hardware‑in‑the‑loop benches that our flight software runs against, and design the distributed services that let scenarios run reproducibly across machines and in CI. You’ll work directly with the perception, prediction, decision, and missions teams to decide what needs simulating, at what fidelity, and why.

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

What You'll Do

• Build and extend the mission simulation environment that Lodestar's autonomy stack is developed and validated against
• Develop high-fidelity sensor and environment models - electro-optical cameras, orbital lighting and illumination
• Build software-in-the-loop and hardware-in-the-loop test benches so that flight software can be trialed against realistic simulated missions
• Design distributed simulation services to run mission scenarios at scale
• Own the internal simulation tooling, telemetry, and regression frameworks

Basic Qualifications

We are hiring this role at three levels. All levels require a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Aerospace, Robotics, Mechanical or Electrical Engineering, a related field, or equivalent experience.

Software Engineer I

• 0–2 years of professional experience in simulation, robotics, games. Can also include Internships and research placements.
• Working proficiency in C++ and Python
• Exposure to ROS 2 in an academic, research, or professional setting
• Understanding of multithreading fundamentals - threads, synchronization primitives, race conditions
• Familiarity with 3D game engines (Unreal Engine or Unity) or comparable physics and graphics simulation tooling
• Comfortable developing in Linux and with containerised workflows (Docker)

Software Engineer II

• 2–5 years of industry experience building simulation, robotics, or games.
• Strong modern C++ (C++17 or later) alongside Python
• Production experience with ROS 2 - node design, DDS middleware, message passing, launch and configuration management
• Hands‑on SIL and/or HIL experience: building test harnesses and integrating real vehicle or flight software against simulated sensors and actuators
• Experience with Unreal Engine for sensor or environment simulation, or equivalent depth in Unity, Isaac Sim, or Gazebo
• Experience designing distributed services - inter-process communication, message transport, and orchestration across multiple machines
• Demonstrated multithreaded and concurrent programming in a real-time or soft‑real‑time context

Software Engineer III

• 6+ years of industry experience, including end-to-end ownership of a simulation stack or a major simulation subsystem
• Track record architecting simulation infrastructure - deciding what to model at what fidelity, and defending those trade‑offs to engineering stakeholders
• Depth in real-time distributed system design: determinism, time synchronisation, clock management, and reproducibility across nodes
• Experience standing up HIL benches or SIL pipelines from scratch, including CI integration and automated regression testing
• Experience mentoring engineers and setting technical direction across team boundaries
• Comfortable deriving requirements from first principles

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Familiarity with orbital mechanics and Basilisk
• Experience with physics engines and rigid‑body dynamics
• Sensor modelling experience across electro‑optical, LIDAR, RADAR, or RF sensors
• Experience with GPU rendering pipelines or CUDA for accelerated simulation and synthetic data generation
• Exposure to robotics or space simulation frameworks such as Gazebo, Isaac Sim, Basilisk, or 42
• Experience with distributed transports (DDS, Zenoh, gRPC) and time‑synchronisation protocols (PTP, NTP)
• Experience with Linux, Git, and CI/CD pipelines
• Comfortable with containerisation and orchestration tools such as Docker and Kubernetes
• Strong understanding of networking and communication protocols for distributed autonomy systems

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.

Compensation & Benefits

Our full band structure for this role:

• (P1) Entry: $99,000 - $133,000 / year
• (P2) Developing: $115,000 - $174,000 / year
• (P3) Career: $136,000 - $200,000 / year
• (P4) Senior: $175,000 - $250,000 / 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
• Los Angeles

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.