Avionics Software Engineer

About Lodestar Lodestar's mission is to develop the first "Protect and Defend" capability for high-value space assets in orbit. Our flagship product, MITHRIL, is our hardware-agnostic, AI-enabled autonomy software suite that enables us 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 into a single unified platform, we deliver an end-to-end, autonomous in-space bodyguarding service. About the Job We’re hiring Avionics Software Engineers across three technical focus areas: Flight Software, Distributed Middleware & Embedded Linux Depending on your experience, you’ll take ownership of one of these areas while working closely across avionics, autonomy, AI/ML, and hardware. What You'll Do Within our Avionics Software team, we're hiring multiple engineers across two core technical specialisms. Please identify which role best matches your skills and experience: 1. Distributed Middleware Engineering Develop the distributed middleware enabling communication, workload orchestration, and telemetry across heterogeneous onboard compute systems. Build resilient software infrastructure including high-performance IPC, networking, process supervision, and fail-safe Over-The-Air (OTA) update mechanisms. Deliver scalable software platforms that support fault-tolerant autonomous operations. 2. Embedded Linux Engineering Develop and maintain custom embedded Linux platforms for NVIDIA Jetson-based flight computers, from board bring-up through to deployment. Optimise kernel performance through real-time tuning, low-level driver development, system profiling and selective kernel slimming. Architect a hardened, minimal-footprint Linux-based operating system. Qualifications The following qualifications are desired across all of these roles: BEng/MEng in Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent experience. Strong foundation in C++. Experience developing software for embedded systems using Linux or RTOS (e.g., RTEMS, FreeRTOS). Solid understanding of multi-process architectures and inter-process communication. Strong communicator and self-starter; able to work independently and in a collaborative team. Demonstrated skills in debugging and performance characterisation. Preferred Skills & Experience Desired skills and experience relevant to all of these roles: Good understanding of communication protocols. Familiarity with containerisation and deployment tools (e.g. Docker, Kubernetes). Deep understanding of Linux kernel architecture, bootloaders (e.g., U-Boot), and low-level system bring-up. Understanding of fault-tolerant design principles, error handling, or defensive programming in resource-constrained systems. Experience with real-time Linux kernel tuning. Background with the space industry. Experience with publish-subscribe middlewares. Exposure to fail-safe Over-The-Air (OTA) update frameworks. Demonstrated strong problem-solving skills and ability to work in a fast-paced environment. Proven experience in system integration and working with multidisciplinary teams. Compensation & Benefits Pay Range: (E1) Junior Engineer: £30,000 - £55,000 / year (E2) Mid-level Engineer: £55,000 - £75,000 / year Meaningful equity incentives as part of our employee option pool Unlimited Paid Time Off (PTO) Comprehensive medical, dental & vision coverage Contributory pension Be part of a scrappy, dynamic, multidisciplinary, collaborative crew 🏴‍☠️ 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 t