{"schemaVersion":"jobsearcher.job.v1","id":"cfce47bf7c9e4c1cb005a795","url":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/cfce47bf7c9e4c1cb005a795","canonicalUrl":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/cfce47bf7c9e4c1cb005a795","title":"Software Engineer - Perception","description":"Software Engineer - PerceptionLodestar'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.\r\nAbout the JobAs a Software Engineer - Perception at Lodestar, you'll be joining the perception and machine vision teams to rapidly grow our vision and perception models at MITHRIL's center. You'll focus on researching and building algorithms to detect, classify and understand unknown space targets in real-time. By combining computer vision, image processing and machine learning, you'll develop custom models - providing the foundation for autonomous decision-making in complex and uncertain space environments.\r\nWe proudly have an \"extreme ownership\" oriented engineering culture.\r\nWhat You'll DoScoping architecture for the perception system core to Lodestar's autonomy software suite\r\nResearch and adapt novel perception algorithms - everything from lit. review, through training and evaluation, to optimisation and deployment\r\nDesign, develop ML algorithms from the ground up, in addition to build on and optimizing our existing models for edge computing\r\nFurther develop our robust methods for predicting relative pose of dynamic space targets in harsh and unpredictable visual environments\r\nIntegrate perception models into mission simulation environments and real-time autonomy pipelines\r\nContribute to the design of realistic sensor models and digital twins to improve perception fidelity in mission scenarios\r\nOwn perception tooling, model training infrastructure, and evaluation frameworks for ongoing development and deployment\r\nCollaborate across autonomy, estimation, and mission software teams to ensure perception fidelity, performance, and scalability\r\nBasic QualificationsBachelor's or Master's degree in, AI/ML, Computer Science, Robotics, a related field, or equivalent experience\r\n2+ years of distinguished industry experience in Machine Learning, robotics, computer vision, or a related field\r\nExcellent software engineering skills in C++ and Python\r\nStrong DNN/ML background and experience in CV and image processing libraries (OpenCV, CUDA-accelerated vision, PCL)\r\nBroad understanding of modern perception systems and their architecture\r\nExperience developing and deploying ML models to real-time systems\r\nPreferred Skills & ExperienceExperience processing sensor measurements from a variety of sensors including RADAR, electro-optical sensors, RF sensors, or LIDAR\r\nFamiliarity with image processing techniques (e.g., feature extraction, segmentation, filtering, stereo matching) to support 3D reconstruction and target classification\r\nTrack record optimizing neural networks and geometric algorithms using CUDA kernels, TensorRT, or other GPU acceleration frameworks\r\nExperience with distributed training and cloud-based scaling of ML models (AWS, GCP, or Azure)\r\nExperience with Linux, Git, and CI/CD pipelines\r\nComfortable with containerization tools such as Docker and Kubernetes\r\nStrong understanding of networking and communication protocols for distributed autonomy systems\r\nITAR RequirementsTo 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.\r\nCompensation & BenefitsPay Range: Junior Software Engineer: $115,000 - $140,000 / year, Software Engineer: $140,000 - $180,000 / year, Senior Software Engineer: Competitive\r\nMeaningful equity incentives as part of our employee option pool\r\nFlexible PTO with generous paid vacation, holidays, and sick leave\r\nComprehensive medical, dental & vision coverage\r\n401(k) retirement plan with company match\r\nLos Angeles or San Francisco\r\nAdditional InformationCompensation 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.\r\nLodestar 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.","company":"Lodestar","rawCompany":"lodestar","city":"Millbrae","state":"CA","isRemote":false,"isActive":false,"createdAt":"2026-04-09T08:18:33.824Z","occupations":[{"code":"15-1252.00","title":"Software Developers","slug":"software-developers"},{"code":"15-1299.08","title":"Computer Systems Engineers/Architects","slug":"computer-systems-engineers-architects"},{"code":"17-2199.08","title":"Robotics Engineers","slug":"robotics-engineers"}],"industries":[{"code":"541511","title":"Custom Computer Programming Services","slug":"custom-computer-programming-services"},{"code":"541512","title":"Computer Systems Design Services","slug":"computer-systems-design-services"},{"code":"513210","title":"Software Publishers","slug":"software-publishers"}],"jobPosting":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"JobPosting","title":"Software Engineer - Perception","description":"Software Engineer - PerceptionLodestar'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.\r\nAbout the JobAs a Software Engineer - Perception at Lodestar, you'll be joining the perception and machine vision teams to rapidly grow our vision and perception models at MITHRIL's center. You'll focus on researching and building algorithms to detect, classify and understand unknown space targets in real-time. By combining computer vision, image processing and machine learning, you'll develop custom models - providing the foundation for autonomous decision-making in complex and uncertain space environments.\r\nWe proudly have an \"extreme ownership\" oriented engineering culture.\r\nWhat You'll DoScoping architecture for the perception system core to Lodestar's autonomy software suite\r\nResearch and adapt novel perception algorithms - everything from lit. review, through training and evaluation, to optimisation and deployment\r\nDesign, develop ML algorithms from the ground up, in addition to build on and optimizing our existing models for edge computing\r\nFurther develop our robust methods for predicting relative pose of dynamic space targets in harsh and unpredictable visual environments\r\nIntegrate perception models into mission simulation environments and real-time autonomy pipelines\r\nContribute to the design of realistic sensor models and digital twins to improve perception fidelity in mission scenarios\r\nOwn perception tooling, model training infrastructure, and evaluation frameworks for ongoing development and deployment\r\nCollaborate across autonomy, estimation, and mission software teams to ensure perception fidelity, performance, and scalability\r\nBasic QualificationsBachelor's or Master's degree in, AI/ML, Computer Science, Robotics, a related field, or equivalent experience\r\n2+ years of distinguished industry experience in Machine Learning, robotics, computer vision, or a related field\r\nExcellent software engineering skills in C++ and Python\r\nStrong DNN/ML background and experience in CV and image processing libraries (OpenCV, CUDA-accelerated vision, PCL)\r\nBroad understanding of modern perception systems and their architecture\r\nExperience developing and deploying ML models to real-time systems\r\nPreferred Skills & ExperienceExperience processing sensor measurements from a variety of sensors including RADAR, electro-optical sensors, RF sensors, or LIDAR\r\nFamiliarity with image processing techniques (e.g., feature extraction, segmentation, filtering, stereo matching) to support 3D reconstruction and target classification\r\nTrack record optimizing neural networks and geometric algorithms using CUDA kernels, TensorRT, or other GPU acceleration frameworks\r\nExperience with distributed training and cloud-based scaling of ML models (AWS, GCP, or Azure)\r\nExperience with Linux, Git, and CI/CD pipelines\r\nComfortable with containerization tools such as Docker and Kubernetes\r\nStrong understanding of networking and communication protocols for distributed autonomy systems\r\nITAR RequirementsTo 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.\r\nCompensation & BenefitsPay Range: Junior Software Engineer: $115,000 - $140,000 / year, Software Engineer: $140,000 - $180,000 / year, Senior Software Engineer: Competitive\r\nMeaningful equity incentives as part of our employee option pool\r\nFlexible PTO with generous paid vacation, holidays, and sick leave\r\nComprehensive medical, dental & vision coverage\r\n401(k) retirement plan with company match\r\nLos Angeles or San Francisco\r\nAdditional InformationCompensation 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.\r\nLodestar 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.","datePosted":"2026-04-09T08:18:33.824Z","dateModified":"2026-04-09T08:18:33.824Z","hiringOrganization":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Lodestar","sameAs":"https://jobsearcher.com"},"jobLocation":{"@type":"Place","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","addressLocality":"Millbrae","addressRegion":"CA","addressCountry":"US"}},"identifier":{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"JobSearcher","value":"cfce47bf7c9e4c1cb005a795"},"url":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/cfce47bf7c9e4c1cb005a795"}}