---
title: 'Avionics Software Engineer at Lodestar'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/avionics-software-engineer-lodestar-london-tnxkbb7w530b'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-09'
---

# Avionics Software Engineer at Lodestar

- **Company:** Lodestar
- **Location:** London, United Kingdom
- **Posted:** 2025-10-20
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-09
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.eu.greenhouse.io/lodestarspace/jobs/4695994101

## Job description

## 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.

1. 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
- 28 Days Annual Leave
- 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 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 one of the following countries: Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, or United States, or if you hold ineligible dual citizenship or nationality. For more information on these Regulations, click here [ITAR Regulations.](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/01/23/2020-00574/international-traffic-in-arms-regulations-us-munitions-list-categories-i-ii-and-iii)

Additional Information:

Compensation 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.

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.

## About Lodestar

## Core Business
- **Primary Industry**: Defense and Space Manufacturing
- **Target Customers**: Government and allied defense agencies (B2G); specifically US and allied space asset operators
- **Mission**: To deter conflict in space by providing credible, sovereign orbital defense capabilities through autonomous AI software and satellite platforms.

## Products & Services
- **Mithril AI (Autonomous AI Fighter-Pilot)**: Software that runs on orbital bodyguard satellites, enabling real-time space situational awareness, threat detection, classification, and autonomous response. Designed for on-orbit SDA, inspection, and effect delivery.
- **Orbital Defence as a Service**: End-to-end protection stack for high-value satellites, from detection and intelligence to active response, delivered via a fleet of bodyguard satellites.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly available (private company)
- **Key Metric**: Total funding of approximately $3.55M (as of early 2026), comprising a $2.5M Pre-Seed round led by Lunar Ventures and Inflection, plus grants from the UK Space Agency ($1M) and European Space Agency.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Lunar Ventures, Inflection, UK Space Agency, European Space Agency, Charlie Songhurst, Zehan Wang
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - 14 employees with 8 active job postings (indicating rapid scaling)
  - First satellite payload scheduled for launch in early 2027
  - Government contracts and briefings with Pentagon and UK defense stakeholders
  - Growing European defense budgets (e.g., Germany’s €30-35B by 2030)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Purpose-built for defense**: Unlike competitors that repurpose commercial tech, Lodestar designs from the ground up for resilience, responsiveness, and sovereignty in contested orbits.
- **End-to-end protection stack**: The only company offering a unified system from detection to autonomous response, rather than point solutions.
- **AI-first approach**: The core asset is the AI model, not the satellite hardware, allowing rapid adaptation to evolving threats without long hardware cycles.
- **Government trust**: Early backing from UK Space Agency and ESA, plus direct engagement with Pentagon-level customers.

## Strategic Focus
- Launch first on-orbit payload to gather proximity data and validate AI models in space
- Expand partnerships with allied defense agencies and prime contractors
- Scale the team (especially engineering and avionics) to accelerate product development
- Win additional government contracts for operational bodyguard satellite systems

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-driven culture**: Work on one of the most pressing national security challenges – space defense – with a clear, unapologetic mission to deter conflict.
- **Cutting-edge technology**: Tackle hard problems in AI, computer vision, on-board autonomy, and spacecraft systems.
- **Small team, big impact**: 14-person team with flat structure; engineers have direct ownership of critical systems.
- **Growth opportunity**: Rapidly scaling with 8 open roles; chance to shape the company’s technical direction.
- **Locations**: Offices in Los Angeles (HQ) and London, UK; hybrid/remote flexibility likely (based on speculative applications accepted from US and UK).
- **Notable perks**: Work with former engineers from MBDA, Orbex, Airbus Defence & Space, and Imperial College London rocketry teams.

## Sources
1. [Lodestar Space Website](https://www.lodestar.space/)
2. [LinkedIn Company Page](https://www.linkedin.com/company/lodestarspace)
3. [CB Insights Profile](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/lodestar-3)
4. [UKspace Member Profile](https://www.ukspace.org/start-up-member/lodestar-space/)
5. [Resilience Media Interview](https://resiliencemedia.co/lodestar-is-building-satellite-bodyguards/)
6. [Greenhouse Careers Page](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/lodestarspace)

## Other roles at Lodestar

- [Software Engineer I or II: State Estimation & Prediction](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-i-or-ii-state-estimation-prediction-lodestar-los-angeles-x94pk8tr5jsg) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Software Engineer I,II,III: Simulations](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-i-ii-iii-simulations-lodestar-los-angeles-nqya82tma539) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Software Engineer I: Perception](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-i-perception-lodestar-los-angeles-86nt051a9fsr) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Technical Proposal Writer](https://feeny.ai/job/technical-proposal-writer-lodestar-los-angeles-8m9d888rr3ft) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Director of Capture and Proposal Operations](https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-capture-and-proposal-operations-lodestar-los-angeles-81ha6p7n0ymq) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Avionics Hardware Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/avionics-hardware-engineer-lodestar-london-v88vfnycw44z) — London, United Kingdom
- [Software Engineer II: On-board Autonomy](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-ii-on-board-autonomy-lodestar-los-angeles-ps92yzwddgz3) — Los Angeles, CA