LeoLabs · 18 hours ago
Senior Physical Scientist
Menlo Park, CA
Full-time
Onsite
Mid, Senior Level
3+ years expLeoLabs is a company focused on building a living map of activity in space through advanced radar technology and AI analytics. They are seeking a Senior Physical Scientist to join their Catalog team, where the role involves developing algorithms, supporting operational systems, and enhancing the accuracy of orbit determination for objects in low Earth orbit.
AerospaceDatabaseMapping ServicesSoftware
Responsibilities
Analyze and refine physical models to improve orbit determination accuracy and precision
Maintain and improve the radar scheduling and measurement association systems, balancing physical fidelity, statistical robustness, and operational constraints
Support launch and early operations (LEOP), including time-critical troubleshooting and object cataloging
Interface with satellite operators and internal stakeholders to tune system performance and resolve operational issues
Design automation for object observation, association, cataloging, and data quality monitoring to reduce manual intervention
Contribute to scaling systems for real-time operation on large data sets, ensuring algorithms and models remain valid as scale and complexity increase
Develop and maintain production scientific software in Python, translating physical and statistical models into reliable, testable code
Contribute to CI/CD pipelines, containerized deployments, and automated testing
Qualification
Required
S. (M.S. or Ph.D. preferred) in Astrodynamics, Aerospace Engineering, Physics, or a related technical field
3–6+ years of experience in orbit determination, numerical modeling, data analysis, or machine learning
Strong foundation in: Linear algebra, probability, and statistics
Optimal estimation and statistical OD
Significant experience with Python in production environments
Demonstrated ability to develop high-reliability nonlinear algorithms
Preferred
Experience with Kalman filters and nonlinear estimation techniques
Experience with radar-based tracking, sensor fusion, or probabilistic data association
Familiarity with cloud-based software infrastructure (AWS), containerization (Docker), and CI/CD pipelines
Experience supporting or operating complex, real-time scientific data pipelines
Experience developing or optimizing algorithms for high-performance computing environments, including parallelization, performance tuning, or large-scale numerical workloads
Experience incorporating machine learning or AI techniques into scientific or operational software systems
Experience using AI-assisted development tools (e.g., for code generation, testing, debugging, or performance optimization) as part of a production software workflow
Experience with Orbit Determination tools, especially using AGI ODTK
Prior experience in on-call rotations or operational support roles
Benefits
Global workforce: flexible remote/hybrid opportunities
Work on complex, meaningful missions with real-world impact
Unlimited paid time off for most roles
Competitive salary and equity packages
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage
Access to the forefront of commercial space operations and defense innovation
Company
LeoLabs
LeoLabs is an aerospace company that supplies and provides low Earth orbit mapping and space situational awareness services.
51-200 employees
H1B Sponsorship
LeoLabs has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2024 (2)
2022 (1)
2021 (2)
2020 (2)
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageTotal Funding
$111MKey Investors
GP BullhoundInsight Partners,Velvet Sea VenturesAirbus Ventures,WERU Investment
2024-02-12Series Unknown· $29M
2021-06-03Series B· $65M
2020-02-05Series A
Leadership Team
Tony Frazier
Chief Executive Officer
Recent News
WSJ.com: US Business
2025-08-27
Company data provided by crunchbase