Task and Motion Planning Engineer

Are you passionate about shaping the future of humanity's presence in space? Lunar Outpost is dedicated to creating a sustainable presence in space while driving positive impacts here on Earth.

About the role

As a Task and Motion Planning Engineer, you will play a pivotal role in the development of cutting-edge decision-making and planning systems for our lunar rovers and orbital assets. Working at the intersection of autonomy, robotics, and space exploration, you will design, develop, and implement sophisticated software solutions that enable coordination of cross-domain autonomous systems. Your work will contribute to groundbreaking missions and technologies that benefit humanity on Earth. Collaborate with cross-disciplinary engineering teams to integrate these systems into a unified, state-of-the-art autonomy stack, pushing the boundaries of space exploration. Work on the Pegasus LTV, which will carry NASA astronauts farther than they've ever been before on the lunar surface.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and development of decentralized decision-making algorithms for lunar rovers and orbital assets
• Develop and implement robust software capable of enabling autonomous operations in challenging lunar environments
• Collaborate with systems, mechanical, electrical, and thermal engineering teams to integrate and optimize autonomy software with asset hardware
• Utilize simulation techniques to improve autonomous system performance and reliability under various conditions in space
• Conduct field tests and simulations to validate and refine algorithms and software systems
• Ensure software systems adhere to industry standards for safety, reliability, and performance in space exploration contexts
• Develop and maintain technical documentation, including ICDs and verification plans
• Participate in design reviews, trade studies, and technical risk assessments
• Stay at the forefront of autonomy and robotics technology, incorporating the latest advancements into our projects

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science, Robotics Engineering, or related field
• At least 3 years of relevant professional experience in developing autonomy software for autonomous systems, with a proven track record in navigation, perception, or belief space planning
• Expertise in at least one of the following areas:
  • Methods for solving Markov decision processes (e.g., value iterate, Monte Carlo tree search, reinforcement learning)
  • Coordinated planning and control of multi-agent systems
  • Motion planning methods (e.g., A*, FMM, RRT)
  • Belief space planning (e.g., BRM, RRBT)
  • Tasking and scheduling
  • Orbital planning and control algorithms
• Expertise in programming languages such as C++, Python, and familiarity with ROS (Robot Operating System)
• Comfortable working in research-oriented, agile, and interdisciplinary teams
• Track record of innovation in networking, robotics, or space systems, as demonstrated by patents, publications, or significant project achievements
• Exceptional ability to communicate complex technical concepts and collaborate across various engineering disciplines
• U.S. Citizen

Preferred Qualifications

• M.S. or Ph.D. in a field relevant to autonomy or robotics directly applicable to autonomous navigation and guidance
• Experience with autonomous systems in space or other extreme, unstructured environments
• Familiarity with space operating systems (e.g., VxWorks) and software (e.g., cFS)
• Familiarity with containers (e.g., Docker) and virtualization software (e.g., VirtualBox)
• Experience with the end-to-end development and deployment of network software systems in space exploration missions

Benefits

• Comprehensive health coverage: Medical, dental, and vision benefits, with 70% of premiums covered by the employer
• Paid time off: Three (3) weeks per year of vacation
• Retirement plan: Up to 4% employer match on 401(k) contributions
• Paid holidays: 11 company-recognized holidays
• Parental leave
• Educational reimbursement opportunities to support continued learning and career development