---
title: 'Software Engineer I or II: State Estimation & Prediction at Lodestar'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-i-or-ii-state-estimation-prediction-lodestar-los-angeles-x94pk8tr5jsg'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-09'
---

# Software Engineer I or II: State Estimation & Prediction at Lodestar

- **Company:** Lodestar
- **Location:** Los Angeles, CA
- **Posted:** 2026-09-07
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-09
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.eu.greenhouse.io/lodestarspace/jobs/4965825101

## 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 single unified platform, we deliver an end-to-end, autonomous in-space bodyguarding service.

## About the Job

At Lodestar, as a Graduate Software Engineer (I or II): State Estimation & Prediction, you’ll be leading the development of our state estimation and prediction models at the core of Lodestar’s flagship product, MITHRIL. You’ll be focusing on researching and developing algorithms that fuse probabilistic estimation with machine learning to track targets, predict trajectories and assess intent.

We proudly have an "extreme ownership" oriented engineering culture.

## What You’ll Do

- Contribute to the design and implementation of Lodestar's core state estimation and prediction architecture for autonomous spacecraft operations
- Support research into novel estimation and prediction algorithms, from literature review through training and tuning to optimisation and deployment
- Implement, test, and benchmark classical and neural estimators that track the current state and trajectory of multiple dynamic targets in real time
- Build and evaluate neural models that forecast future trajectories and behavioural patterns of targets
- Assist in the development of intent inference models that identify actions and dynamically rank threat levels
- Integrate state estimation and prediction models into mission simulation environments and autonomy decision systems
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including perception and on-board autonomy, to ensure prediction fidelity, robustness, and scalability across missions

## Basic Qualifications

- Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Computer Science, Aerospace, Robotics, Applied Mathematics, or a related field, completed within the last 24 months or due to be completed before your start date
- Working proficiency in C++ and Python, evidenced through coursework, research, internships, or personal projects
- Grounding in probabilistic state estimation (Kalman filters, particle filters, Bayesian inference), whether from taught modules, research, or self-directed work
- Practical exposure to a deep learning framework (PyTorch, TensorFlow), including sequence modelling (seq2seq, RNNs, LSTMs, Transformers)
- Familiarity with trajectory modelling, multi-body dynamics, or orbital mechanics
- Demonstrated ability to work through open-ended technical problems and communicate your reasoning clearly

## Preferred Skills & Experience

- Internship, industrial placement, or research assistantship in aerospace, robotics, estimation, or a related field
- A dissertation, thesis, or capstone project in state estimation, sensor fusion, or trajectory forecasting
- Experience applying sequence-to-sequence models to forecasting problems in dynamic environments
- Familiarity with sensor fusion techniques (e.g. combining radar, optical, and inertial data)
- Exposure to GPU acceleration (CUDA, TensorRT) for neural network training and inference
- Experience with Linux, Git, and CI/CD pipelines
- Familiarity with containerisation tools such as Docker and Kubernetes
- Awareness of real-time systems, multi-threading, and performance optimisation
- Understanding of networking and communication protocols for distributed autonomy systems
- Contributions to open-source projects, or participation in student rocketry, CubeSat, robotics, or autonomous vehicle teams

ITAR Requirements

To 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](https://www.pmddtc.state.gov/?id=ddtc_kb_article_page&sys_id=24d528fddbfc930044f9ff621f961987).

## Compensation & Benefits

- Our full band structure for this role:
- (P1) Entry: $99,000 - $133,000 / year
- (P2) Developing: $115,000 - $174,000 / year
- Meaningful equity incentives as part of our employee option pool
- Flexible PTO with generous paid vacation, holidays, and sick leave
- Comprehensive medical, dental & vision coverage
- 401(k) retirement plan with company match
- Based in Los Angeles

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. 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.

Lodestar 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.

## 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,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
- [Avionics Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/avionics-software-engineer-lodestar-london-tnxkbb7w530b) — 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