Software Development Engineer, GNC Software, Amazon Leo

About the role

Amazon Leo is Amazon’s low Earth orbit satellite network, aiming to deliver fast, reliable internet connectivity to customers beyond the reach of existing networks, serving households, schools, hospitals, businesses, and government agencies in locations without reliable connectivity. The project depends on new satellite designs and ground capabilities to operate a large constellation and provide high‑performance service. Systems are designed to be highly autonomous, self‑adaptable, and capable of recovery. Most equipment and software is developed in‑house. Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) designs the constellation for coverage and space safety, develops systems that control and maneuver each satellite from injection to operational orbit, provides real‑time navigation, forecasts orbital state, and cues communications systems for accurate pointing.

The team brings experience with various satellite systems and flight vehicles, with strength in GNC disciplines and software development for flight and other systems. They design, prototype, test, iterate, and learn together, driving Concepts of Operation and system‑level analyses while collaborating across the program for discovery, learning, and growth.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop real‑time, embedded software that controls satellite flight, including guidance, navigation, and maneuvering across all mission phases from orbit injection through station keeping.
• Build ground‑based applications that predict orbital state, monitor for potential collisions, and optimize maneuver planning for the constellation.
• Create high‑fidelity modeling and simulation software to validate GNC algorithms and support system‑level testing and integration.
• Collaborate across teams to troubleshoot and resolve problems spanning satellite integration, manufacturing, and flight operations, ensuring reliable end‑to‑end system performance.
• Develop and maintain the infrastructure, tools, and documentation needed to build, test, deploy, and operate GNC software at scale.

Requirements

• U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum (export control requirement).

Qualifications

• Basic: 3+ years of non‑internship professional software development experience.
• Basic: Bachelor's degree or equivalent.
• Preferred: Experience with Python.
• Preferred: Experience with Rust.
• Preferred: General familiarity with, or strong interest in learning, aerospace, robotics, controls, or other dynamical‑systems domains.
• Preferred: Guidance, Navigation and Control development experience.
• Preferred: Passion for space safety, satellite operations, and advancing the commercial space industry.
• Preferred: General familiarity with the disciplines necessary for spacecraft flight (structures, propulsion, avionics, GNC, flight software, dynamics, launch and mission operations, integration). Practical experience in real‑world development of these systems is highly desired.
• Preferred: Ability to work in a fast‑paced, iterative environment and take ownership end‑to‑end.

Skills

• Python
• Rust
• Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) software development
• Real‑time embedded software
• Orbital mechanics / aerospace fundamentals
• Modeling and simulation
• Collision avoidance and maneuver planning
• Systems integration and testing

Benefits

• Health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D, option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement)
• 401(k) matching
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Sign‑on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs)

Pay

Base salary range: $143,700.00 – $194,400.00 USD annually (Redmond, WA).