Payload Systems Engineer

Lodestar

Los Angeles, United States Posted October 15, 2026

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On-site Full-time Mid level
Salary Range

$99,000 - $133,000

Job Description

Join Lodestar as a Payload Engineer I, where you'll be a key player in the development of an integrated autonomous sensing and effector payload for the CORONA program. You'll work closely with senior engineers, taking the engineering model through design reviews and milestones, and owning the payload engineering model from day one. This is an early-career role with a broad scope, ideal for hands-on builders and fast learners.

  • Assumer la responsabilité du modèle d'ingénierie de la charge utile au quotidien, de bout en bout : exigences, conception, construction, intégration, test et rédaction.
  • Développer les exigences de la charge utile, de l'autonomie, de l'effecteur, de l'alimentation, de la thermique et du pointage, ainsi que les ICD entre la charge utile, l'avionique et le bus spatial.
  • Préparer les packages SRR, PDR et CDR, et maintenir la matrice de vérification et le registre des risques à jour entre les portes.
  • Working proficiency in Python
  • Hands-on evidence of building something real and making it work, such as a university cubesat or rocketry team, research lab, Formula Student, a hardware internship, or a project taken from nothing to working. We weight this far above grades
  • Bachelor's or Master's degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical or Electronic Engineering, Physics, Optics or Photonics, Robotics, Computer Science, or demonstrated equivalent knowledge
  • 0–2 years of professional experience. Early-career candidates, including recent graduates, are encouraged to apply
  • Space exposure in any form: cubesat program, hosted payload, space or defense internship, or a space-focused Master's project
  • Optics and photonics bench work (laser safety experience, e.g. ANSI Z136, a plus)
  • Computer vision
  • Closed-loop pointing and control
  • Environmental test and integration
  • Systems engineering practice
  • Embedded or real-time software
Required Skills
Python computer vision
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