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Principal GNC/ACS Engineer
about 2 months ago
Full time role
In-person · Denver, CO, US
Be one of the Bedo 100
Albedo is revolutionizing the space industry by building technology to commercialize Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO). Our first satellite, Clarity-1, is built upon our Precision bus, our VLEO-optimized platform designed specifically to thrive where other satellites cannot. With the successful launch of Clarity-1, we've proven our ability to deliver the highest resolution visible (10cm) and thermal (2m) imagery available commercially from space—a resolution previously possible only with aircraft and drones, but now available globally and on-demand.
Through the next couple of years, our focuses will be scaling production of our Precision bus to support the growing Clarity constellation and serving our customers the highest-resolution data. As part of the first 100 employees at Albedo, you will have a direct impact on on the above goals, whether that’s working directly on hardware to enhance our performance in VLEO, optimizing the pointing algorithms of our agile satellite, or delivering imagery to reduce wildfire risk, monitor carbon emissions from industrial power plants, or inform decision-makers on national security matters.
How We Operate: Albedo has developed a novel approach to Very Low Earth Orbit, both in space and with our business model. We are intentionally doing things differently by taking (calculated) risks, trying new things, and moving with speed. In age where AI presents extraordinary potential, we’ve adopted an AI-first mentality to create leverage for ourselves and customers. Like our satellites, we intentionally operate in a space that most avoid because its hard — but the excitement and things we have and will achieve make it worth it.
Who We're Looking For: As we scale our VLEO platform and expand our constellation, we need innovative thinkers who thrive in fast-paced environments and are passionate about pushing technological boundaries. You'll be joining a team that's already proven it can achieve the impossible with the successful deployment of Clarity-1. If you're excited to tackle top-tier technical challenges, apply cutting-edge AI developments, and advance the state-of-the-art in VLEO technology, you'll find yourself part of a mission that's transforming how humanity sees and understands our planet—and eventually, other worlds.
If you can feel the excitement running through your veins, apply to be one of the Bedo 100.
We’re looking for a Principal GNC/ACS Engineer to lead the development of Albedo’s Guidance Navigation & Control/Attitude Control Systems GNC/ACS. This person will be responsible for tasks, ranging from single vehicle mission analysis, constellation deployment strategies, on-orbit calibration and initialization plans, as well as working with our suppliers to ensure Albedo’s requirements are met.
What You’ll Do:
- Lead development of modern optimization-based solutions for spacecraft guidance, navigation, and control
- Work with the GNC team to model and develop low jitter, fine pointing image scan maneuvers and analyze them for induced image motion
- Develop detailed error budgets and line-of-sight simulations to account for how induced vibration from vehicle actuators translates into image degradation and what structural dynamics and isolation is required for mission success
- Develop vehicle control system instrumentation, avionics, and flight control software
- Work in teams and individually in the development, assembly, integration, and testing of remote sensing satellites and associated subcomponents
- Develop flight constraints and guidance parameters to meet mission objectives
- Analyze control system components to ensure proper integration into the overall vehicle design
- Identify and communicate the technical, cost, and schedule risks for assigned systems and subsystems
- Coordinate with test personnel for non-real time, real time, and hardware-in-the-loop testing of control systems
- Support configuration design studies and test article development
- Develop and own SV geolocation and image motion budgets
- Travel to supplier locations
Your Ideal Skills and Experience:
- 7-12+ years of GNC/ACS experience
- 5+ years of experience working on scanning remote sensing control systems
- Strong technical fundamentals in attitude knowledge, control, and pointing stability
- Familiarity with scanning imaging sensors and vehicle maneuver patterns to maximize image quality
- Experience with Control Moment Gyro systems, including the principles of CMG control laws
- Experience with deriving structural dynamics requirements from line-of-sight mission objectives given tonal disturbance sources
- Familiar with quaternion kinematics
- Highly experienced in one or more of the following:
- Extended Kalman filters used in real-time and offline attitude and orbit determination applications
- Advanced techniques for accurate short-term orbit prediction and extrapolation, including propagation, fitting/splining, and smoothing
- Development and integration of modern optimization-based solutions for spacecraft guidance, navigation, and control
- Software framework for flight control: schedulers, hardware drivers, sensor or actuator processing, fault detection, and state machines for mode control
- Demonstrated knowledge of the tools and processes used in developing software for real-time, deterministic, embedded control systems
Desirable Skills and Experience:
- Experience with pointing architecture or algorithms used on a scanning imaging satellite = mega plus
- Experience working with suppliers, providing close technical guidance, and/ or co-developing software
- Experience with tuning feed-back and feed-ahead control algorithms via Bode, Nichols, Quantitative-feedback Theory (QFT), root locus, or phase-plane or related techniques
- Ability to design and implement FIR, discrete-sample-time filters
- Familiar with optimal control, MIMO system analysis, and state space synthesis techniques
- Familiar with advanced distribution laws or inverse kinematics models
Compensation and Benefits
- Employee friendly equity compensation
- Asynchronous culture with flexible working hours
- 4% direct matching 401k
- Insurance: Medical, Vision, Dental, Mental Health
- Parental leave and childcare coverage
- Relocation bonus for moving to our Denver, CO HQ
- Flexible vacation from day one
- 10 company holidays and unlimited sick days
- $100 monthly wellness benefit
- Team retreats to build relationships in-person
Full-Time On-Site Work Environment: This position requires regular in-person engagement by working on-site full-time. Travel to other possible non-Albedo locations may be required.
Working Conditions:
Work is performed in an office environment, laboratory, cleanroom, or production floor.
Albedo does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to Albedo employees. Albedo is not responsible for any fees or overhead related to unsolicited resumes.
Additional Requirements: In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire. All persons hired will be required to be a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., or 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.
Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled: Albedo is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Relocation: Relocation for this position is available
US CITIZENSHIP IS REQUIRED
#LI-Onsite
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