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Director of Engineering, Simulation

Playa Vista, California, United States

Turning Space into a Transportation Layer for Earth

Who We Are: 

Eras of humanity can often be defined by a dominant transportation mode - horse drawn carriage, ocean faring boats, or aircraft. These were spurred by a small group of people rigorously focused on building technology to achieve faster access to more of the world.  We seek to usher in a new era of humanity defined by universal access to the whole globe free of borders and the presence of a routine way from space to Earth. To do this, we are building highly maneuverable re-entry vehicles that can loiter in orbit before precision landing back on Earth.    

What You’ll Do: 

As the head of Inversion’s Simulation team, you will be responsible for one of the most consequential portions of engineering Inversion spacecraft. Inversion’s simulation framework encompasses the infrastructure, tools, software, and hardware necessary to ensure that our spacecraft can accomplish the missions they set out to do reliably. This team’s work spans vehicle physics and sensor modeling, large-scale simulation frameworks, test infrastructure for backend verification, and integrated avionics and system testing. You will spearhead the creation, design, and leadership of Inversion Hardware in the Loop (HITL / HIL); Software in the Loop (SITL / SIL); and Guidance Navigation, and Control (GNC) test infrastructure. In this role, you will: 

  • Report directly to the Chief Technology Officer (CTO). 
  • Lead technical and programmatic architecture and execution of Inversion’s HITL, SITL, and other systems for Inversion’s Arc vehicle. 
  • Assemble an incredibly talent-dense team of engineers to design, build, test, and produce a highly functional simulation framework to enable engineers to rapidly develop systems. 
  • Integrate and coordinate the integration of your team’s systems into Inversion’s other groups and stakeholders (DoD, FAA, NASA, etc.). 
  • Implement your vision for what you deem the “art of the possible” in a company that’s constructing an autonomy-enabled space transportation layer. 

Required Qualifications: 

  • Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Software, or Electrical Engineering, or equivalent experience in a relevant field with a minimum of 7+ years of engineering complex systems. 
  • Demonstrated ability to lead technical projects of significant scope and complexity from concept to successful implementation. 
  • Proficient programming with C/C++, Python, and/or Rust in a Linux environment. 
  • Hands-on experience with embedded operating systems and their integration within HITL / HIL setups. 
  • In-depth knowledge of hardware communication protocols and experience interfacing with sensors, actuators, and other hardware components. 
  • Experience with perception hardware systems, and the integration of such systems within HITL / HIL. 

Desired Qualifications: 

  • Industry experience in space. 
  • Experience interfacing with aerospace-grade mechanical systems such as mechanisms, sensor housings, motors, etc. 
  • Demonstrated experience creating simulation and verification tools for highly regulated environments and stakeholders such as the FAA, DoD, NASA, etc. 
  • Prior work in robotics; state-estimation; guidance navigation, and control (GNC); computer vision (CV); or sensor fusion. 

The California annual base salary for this role is currently $175,000-$276,000.  Pay Grades are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data.  Individual pay will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: interviews and an assessment of several factors that are unique to each candidate, job-related skills, relevant education and experience, certifications, abilities of the candidate and internal equity.   

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ITAR Compliance:
To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.  
 
Equal Employment Opportunity:
Inversion provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, veteran status, or disability.  
 
Inversion collects and processes personal data in accordance with applicable data protection laws.  If you are a US Job Applicant see the CCPA Privacy Policy Notice for further details.

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