Software Engineer – Lunar Rover Communications

Starpath is building the technology to enable human expansion into the Solar System. We are developing a complete end-to-end system for in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) on the Moon and Mars. We plan to launch autonomous rovers to the Moon that will gather icy regolith from permanently-shadowed regions of craters near the Lunar South Pole and deliver that regolith to an automated plant that can process it into liquid oxygen, which will be used to refuel landers for their return flights to Earth.

If high ownership, fast pace, and doing hands-on work that will enable our rovers to explore and mine the Moon sounds like a dream come true, come join the team!

In this role, you will own the software for communicating from our ground stations to our rovers on the Moon. A commercial lander will provide the link between our ground stations on Earth and our rovers on the Moon. You will be responsible for designing and implementing the software to provide telemetry from the rover and for sending commands to the rover.

You will also be responsible for designing and implementing the teleoperation system that will allow operators on Earth to drive our rovers on the Moon. Even though our rovers are primarily autonomous or semi-autonomous, teleoperation capability is a critical backup that will allow a human operator to rescue a rover that has become stuck or lost. This teleoperation capability will need to handle large latencies (~3 seconds) between the camera images and the rover motion commands.

• Design and implement the end-to-end software chain from ground station consoles through the lander relay to the rover on the Moon

• Develop an easy-to-use teleoperation user interface that works well with high latency video streams

• Work closely with the Autonomy Team to design a system that can smoothly transition between teleoperated and autonomous control

• Work closely with the Avionics Team to ensure that communications software is compatible with communications hardware

• Experience programming in Python and C/C++

• Experience writing network software

• Experience with long-range outdoor wireless networks

• Experience with video capture, video encoding, and video streaming

• Evidence of exceptional engineering ability

• Degree in Computer Science or a related field OR demonstrated excellence at coding via significant professional experience

• Outstanding communications skills

• A strong interest in working hands-on with robot hardware

• A desire to make humans a multi-planet species

• Experience programming in ROS/ROS2

• Experience developing software to control real robots

• Experience developing software for aerospace applications

• Experience developing and deploying software in production

• Excellence in academic performance or extracurriculars

• Leadership experience in extracurricular or professional settings

• Location: Los Angeles - Hawthorne

• Salary base rate is $100-175k/yr plus equity package; compensation scales with candidate experience

• PTO & health/dental/vision coverage included

• Willingness to work extended hours as needed

EAR REQUIREMENTS:

• To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.