Space Operations Engineer (Embedded Software)

Orbital Sidekick is a space-based intelligence company that uses hyperspectral imaging satellites to monitor infrastructure and natural resources from orbit. The company provides continuous, high-frequency surveillance of pipelines, energy assets, and environmental conditions, enabling operators to detect leaks, spills, and anomalies with a level of precision and frequency that traditional aerial or ground-based monitoring cannot match. Their technology delivers actionable insights by combining satellite imagery with advanced analytics and machine learning. From a climate and sustainability perspective, Orbital Sidekick plays a critical role in reducing methane and hydrocarbon emissions by helping energy companies detect leaks in pipelines and storage facilities early, preventing significant greenhouse gas releases into the atmosphere. Their monitoring capabilities also support environmental compliance, helping operators meet regulatory requirements and reduce their overall environmental footprint. By making leak detection more accessible and scalable, the company contributes directly to emissions reduction goals across the oil, gas, and broader energy sectors. What sets Orbital Sidekick apart is its proprietary hyperspectral sensing technology, which can identify specific chemical signatures from space, enabling detection of a wide range of substances at trace levels. This gives them a unique advantage over multispectral or standard optical satellite systems. The company operates its own constellation of hyperspectral satellites, branded as the HAWK constellation, providing persistent and repeatable coverage of critical global infrastructure.

What you'll do

Model tasking scenarios for a constellation of hyperspectral satellites

Perform trade studies on orbit positioning and maneuvers to maximize satellite coverage

Interface with the operations and software team to successfully execute targeted tasking with multiple space-based sensors

Test operations plans on ground hardware testbeds, and improving ground software test processes

Work with the OSK product team to deliver high fidelity constellation tasking plans

Verify and Validate tasking plans and spacecraft health and status

Troubleshoot and resolve payload on-orbit anomalies and findings

Optimize camera and optical systems to extract critical insights

Develop detailed understanding of onboard flight software hardware and software interfaces

Work with OSK’s algorithm team to implement onboard algorithms to high-bandwidth data-streams

Develop OSK’s data ingestion and processing capabilities for satellite as well as aerial hyperspectral images 

Work with GPU cores to implement on-the-fly data corrections using a neural network

Incorporate payload and spacecraft bus command and control schemes

What you’ll have

BS in Aerospace/Mechanical/Astronautical engineering or Computer Science

3+ years of experience in the Aerospace/Space industry

Strong skills in C, C++, Linux Operating System on ARM

Spacecraft operations experience, downloading and uploading spacecraft control parameters

Ability to code in python for scripting, automation and algorithm integration purposes

Experience using software APIs to receive and send telemetry data

Knowledge of embedded communication protocols to control hardware sensors

Strong skills in data processing pipelines and algorithm runtime optimization

You'll stand out as a candidate if you have

MS in Aerospace/Astronautical Engineering or Computer Science

Familiarity with scalable software solutions

Health and Status monitoring of software systems

Firm understanding of optics, optical alignment, and spacecraft control

Experience with remote sensing data

Expertise in python and C++ software development