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 a single unified platform, we deliver an end-to-end, autonomous in-space bodyguarding service.

About the Job

We seek a talented Avionics Software Engineer to design, develop, and deploy software for space applications. If you have a solid background in modern C++ development, embedded Linux experience, and want to play a critical role in advancing autonomy for space applications, we want to hear from you.

What You'll Do

• Design and take ownership of core flight software for advanced space payloads and mission-critical systems.
• Be involved in low level software development including device drivers and board bring-up.
• Develop updatable, fault-tolerant software to support complex autonomous operations in orbit.
• Prototype and validate key system concepts to de-risk development and establish technical feasibility and performance bounds.
• Build toward a scalable, modular, and reusable software stack that enables rapid iteration and future mission extensibility.
• Collaborate closely with hardware and AI/ML teams to enable seamless integration.
• Drive continuous improvement through iterative testing, data-driven feedback loops, and system-level refinement.

Qualifications

• BEng/MEng in Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent experience.
• Strong proficiency in developing modern C++ for Linux.
• Strong experience with SoC platforms (such as Nvidia Jetsons) or other similar embedded platforms
• Strong communicator and self-starter; able to work independently and in a collaborative team.
• Demonstrated skills in debugging and performance characterisation.
• Experience with Linux, Git, and CI/CD pipelines.

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Good understanding of communication protocols.
• Familiarity with containerisation tools (e.g. Docker, Kubernetes) and OTA updates.
• Experience with BSP generation, real-time kernel configuration, build and deployment processes.
• Background with the space industry.
• Demonstrated strong problem-solving skills and ability to work in a fast-paced environment.
• Proven experience in system integration and working with multidisciplinary teams.

Compensation & Benefits

• Pay Range:
  • (E1) Junior Engineer: £30,000 - £55,000 / year
  • (E2) Mid-level Engineer: £55,000 - £80,000 / year
• Meaningful equity incentives as part of our employee option pool
• 28 days holiday
• Comprehensive medical, dental & vision coverage
• Contributory pension

Important Information:

For security reasons background checks will be undertaken prior to any employment offers being made to an applicant. These checks will include nationality checks as it is a requirement of this position that you be eligible to access equipment and data regulated by the United States' International Traffic in Arms Regulations.

Under these Regulations, you may be ineligible for this role if you do not hold citizenship of one of the following countries: Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, or United States, or if you hold ineligible dual citizenship or nationality. For more information on these Regulations, click here ITAR Regulations.

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.

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.