Astrolab · 1 day ago
Lead GNC and Perception Engineer
Hawthorne, CA
Full-time
Hybrid
Senior Level, Lead/Staff
$142K/yr - $235K/yr
10+ years expAstrolab is advancing how humanity explores and operates on other planetary bodies by designing and building multipurpose commercial planetary rovers. The Lead GNC and Perception Engineer will own the autonomy systems for rovers, leading technical strategy and managing a high-performing engineering team to ensure safe and effective operations in extreme environments.
AerospaceManufacturingSpace Travel
Responsibilities
Lead the design and delivery of GNC and perception systems for autonomous rover operations
Define technical direction and system architecture across guidance, navigation, control, and perception
Manage and mentor a team of GNC and perception engineers
Own sensor strategy, including selection, integration, and performance validation
Guide the development of localization, navigation, pose estimation, and autonomy algorithms
Oversee simulation, testing, and verification across lab, field, and analog environments
Drive integration with hardware, software, systems, and mission operations teams
Ensure safety, reliability, and fault tolerance across autonomy systems
Balance performance, risk, and embedded compute constraints
Support tele-operated, semi-autonomous, and fully autonomous vehicle operations
Qualification
Required
10 or more years working on GNC and perception systems for space vehicles, extraterrestrial rovers, or autonomous terrestrial vehicles
Experience managing teams of 5 to 10 engineers and delivering under aggressive timelines with limited resources
End-to-end experience across vehicle development lifecycles, from trade studies through embedded implementation, verification, and operations
Strong experience with perception systems for autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles, including: Sensor selection and testing across optical, inertial, radar, lidar, and related systems; Image processing methods and algorithms; Global and relative localization, multi-sensor odometry, and terrain relative navigation; Pose estimation, feature detection, and tracking; Hazard detection and avoidance; Terrain mapping and route planning; System integration and testing
Experience with statistical analysis methods, such as Monte Carlo, for performance evaluation
Experience designing and executing autonomy test campaigns across lab, field, and analog environments
Experience implementing GNC and perception systems on embedded platforms with limited compute resources
Preferred
Significant experience with GNC and perception systems for extra-terrestrial rovers
Hands-on experience designing, analyzing, and testing GNC and perception algorithms
Experience building simulation environments for autonomy analysis and validation
Experience developing embedded autonomy software under compute and power constraints
Experience optimizing image processing pipelines for space missions
Familiarity with NASA expectations for safety, reliability, and mission assurance
Experience with mobility systems and motor controllers
Experience across tele-operated, semi-autonomous, and fully autonomous vehicle modes
Understanding of extra-terrestrial rover challenges, including power limits, thermal constraints, lunar dust, regolith optics, and lighting conditions
Experience with inertial navigation systems and lidar-based navigation
Benefits
Equity ownership in the company
Comprehensive health benefits, including medical, dental, vision, and mental health support
401(k) plan with company match
Flexible PTO and parental leave
Home office set-up reimbursement
Fully flexible and remote-friendly work environment
Weekly lunch stipend, plus complimentary snacks and beverages on-site
Twice a month, social hour on-site with food and drinks
Company
Astrolab
Astrolab manufactures and designs rovers that will transform the way we live and work in space.
51-200 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageLeadership Team
Jaret Matthews
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Aviva Buller
Director of Procurement & Supply Chain
Recent News
2025-07-13
Company data provided by crunchbase