About the Job

Are you looking for new engineering challenges to tackle? Do you thrive on solving problems through teamwork? Do you want to see the impact of your work on the bigger picture? If you answered yes, you’ll fit right in at Lodestar Space. We’re a dynamic, multidisciplinary team of doers, working passionately to apply cutting-edge robotics to solve the hardest challenges that will transform the space sector.

We’re looking for a Simulations Engineer to design and develop our space mission simulator - a platform for software- and hardware-in-the-loop testing that integrates robotics, autonomy, and spacecraft dynamics. You’ll work closely with teams across hardware, machine vision, and software to bring this simulator to life as a critical enabler of our mission.

You’ll be at the centre of simulations and testing at Lodestar: scoping the architecture; building modular and extensible systems; simulating in-orbit demonstrations; and integrating everything from real-time spacecraft physics and robotics to photo-realistic sensor simulation and external hardware interfaces.

What You’ll Do

• Develop Lodestar’s core mission simulation environment and testing platform
• Develop software in C++, Python, and web-based frameworks to support modelling, visualisation, and analysis
• Enable software- and hardware-in-the-loop testing with real flight hardware and interfaces
• Develop realistic models of spacecraft dynamics, robotics, onboard sensors, and hardware I/O
• Simulating and testing end-to-end mission CONOPS and flight algorithms
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to ensure simulator fidelity, performance, and extensibility
• Own simulation tooling, infrastructure, and test frameworks to support ongoing development
• Define requirements, write test plans, and support the simulator through real mission deployments

What We’re Looking For

We're looking for someone who’s hands-on, passionate, and ready to take ownership of a vital part of our mission. You should be comfortable leading, designing, and building in a fast-moving environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Aerospace, Computer Science, Robotics, or a related field
• 1+ years of industry experience in simulation, robotics, aerospace, or a related field
• Strong proficiency in C++ and Python
• Demonstrated experience building or contributing to physics-based simulation tools, or game engines (e.g. Unreal, Unity, IsaacSim)
• Good understanding of 3D math (vectors and quaternions)
• Familiarity with spacecraft dynamics, orbital mechanics, or multi-body physics
• Comfortable integrating across both software and hardware interfaces
• Self-motivated and comfortable managing uncertainty in an early-stage, fast-paced environment

Preferred Qualifications

• Track record building or contributing to hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) and software-in-the-loop (SIL) testbeds
• Experience implementing realistic sensor simulation (e.g. camera, depth, or radar models)
• Familiarity with Linux, Git and CI/CD pipelines
• Comfortable working with containerisation tools such as Docker and Kubernetes
• Familiarity with real-time systems, multi-threading and performance optimisation
• A good understanding of networking and communication protocols
• Experience with custom plugin development for simulation platforms (e.g. Unity, Unreal Engine, IsaacSim extensions)

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 United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, the European Union or a country that is part of NATO, or if you hold ineligible dual citizenship or nationality. For more information on these Regulations, click here ITAR Regulations.

Benefits

• Competitive Salary (based on experience)
• Equity pool options
• Vibrant, open-plan office in London
• 28 Days Annual Leave
• Private Medical Insurance
• Be part of a scrappy, dynamic, multidisciplinary, collaborative crew 🏴‍☠️

At Lodestar Space, we value people with unique experiences, and skill sets. If you’re interested about this role and want to make an impact on a global scale, please apply!