Flight Dynamics Software Engineer

The role

You will develop and maintain Loft Orbital's flight dynamics software stack, which runs orbit determination, propagation, maneuver planning and collision avoidance for a growing fleet of satellites. You will also support satellite operations and work with systems and mission engineers.

What you will do

• Implement and improve algorithms for orbit determination, orbit propagation, maneuver planning, conjunction assessment, collision avoidance and attitude modeling
• Contribute to the open-source astrodynamics tooling used in flight operations and simulation
• Develop and maintain flight dynamics ground software backend applications that compute, store and serve ephemerides, maneuvers, conjunctions and target orbits
• Work with systems and mission engineers to turn mission requirements and customer demands into operational outcomes in orbit
• Support satellite operations engineers with astrodynamics expertise during LEOP, anomalies and conjunction response
• Help configure the software stack for various customer missions

Required qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in physics or an engineering discipline
• Deep technical understanding of some of: orbital mechanics, state estimation, spacecraft maneuver planning, conjunction assessment, spacecraft attitude modeling
• Fundamentals of numerical methods: solvers, optimization and simulation techniques
• Experience designing and developing software libraries and backend services in Python
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Nice to have

• Master's degree in physics or an engineering discipline
• Proficiency in astrodynamics tools such as STK, Astrogator, GMAT, OreKit, Monte, Copernicus, OpenSpaceToolkit, or equivalent
• Practical experience in spacecraft constellation flight dynamics operations
• Practical experience building high-performance backend software applications and/or libraries
• Ability to solve complex problems in a highly collaborative environment

Benefits

• Equity
• Up to 35 days of paid time off (vacations and RTT) and flexible working hours
• Health and life insurance
• Lunch vouchers
• Cross-office travel between San Francisco, Colorado and Toulouse
• Company and team off-sites and events
• Relocation assistance to Toulouse when applicable

Before you apply

• Attach a copy of your resume in English, as it will be reviewed across all offices
• Applicants are encouraged to apply even if they do not meet every listed qualification

About the company

Loft Orbital, founded in 2017, provides governments, companies and research institutions with end-to-end missions in orbit as a service, across Earth observation, IoT connectivity, on-orbit AI and national security. The company reports more than 30 missions flown and aims for a fleet of 30 satellites by 2027.