Senior Autonomy Engineer (Spacecraft) jobs in United States
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Impulse Space · 13 hours ago

Senior Autonomy Engineer (Spacecraft)

positionBoulder County
timeFull-time
remoteOnsite
senioritySenior Level
money$150K/yr - $200K/yr
date5+ years exp

Impulse Space is an in-space transportation company founded by Tom Mueller, focusing on opening access beyond Low Earth Orbit with its fleet of transportation vehicles. The Senior Autonomy Engineer will own spacecraft-level autonomous behavior across all mission phases, defining fault detection, decision-making, and mission execution with minimal ground intervention.

AerospaceManufacturingSpace Travel
badNo H1BnoteU.S. Citizen Onlynote

Responsibilities

Define the spacecraft autonomy architecture, including modes, states, authority, and decision boundaries
Develop and allocate autonomy requirements tied to mission risk and operational needs
Own fault management, safing, and recovery logic at the system level
Coordinate autonomy behavior across flight software, GNC, avionics, and ground systems
Define and maintain autonomy interfaces and assumptions
Drive system-level autonomy verification using SIL, HIL, and mission simulations
Support integration, test campaigns, and mission operations

Qualification

Spacecraft autonomyFault managementSystems engineeringVerificationSimulationDecision-making frameworksSystems thinkingReasoning about failuresProximity operations

Required

Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Robotics, Systems Engineering, or related engineering discipline
5+ years of experience with requirements, interfaces, and system-level behavior definition
Demonstrated hands-on involvement with verification, simulation, or test

Preferred

Master's degree in Aerospace, Robotics, Systems Engineering, or related engineering discipline
Strong systems thinking applied to complex, safety-critical systems
Ability to reason about failures, edge cases, and operational risk
Spacecraft autonomy or fault management experience
Familiarity with flight software, GNC, or mission operations
Experience with state machines, autonomy frameworks, or onboard decision-making
Experience with proximity operations, rendezvous, landing, or deep-space mission

Benefits

Long-term incentives, in the form of stock options
Medical, vision & dental coverage
Access to a 401(k) retirement plan

Company

Impulse Space

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Impulse Space develops in-space transportation technology for payload delivery to various orbits.
dateFounded in 2021
location
Redondo Beach, California, USA
people-size201-500 employees
web-link
https://www.impulsespace.com

Funding

Current Stage
Growth Stage
Total Funding
$525M
Key Investors
Linse CapitalFounders FundRTX Ventures
2025-06-03Series C· $300M
2024-10-01Series B· $150M
2023-07-24Series A· $45M

Leadership Team

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Eric Romo
President and Chief Operating Officer
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Recent News

Business Insider
The SpaceX Mafia is here
2025-12-25
GeekWire
Startups team up to demonstrate satellite rendezvous using Starfish Space’s navigation system
2025-12-16
GlobeNewswire
Starfish Space Completes Autonomous Rendezvous and Proximity Mission in LEO with Impulse Space
2025-12-15
Company data provided by crunchbase