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Simulation Engineer III

Playa Vista, California, United States

Turning Space into a Transportation Layer for Earth

What You’ll Do

As a Simulation Engineer at Inversion, you will play a critical role in developing and maintaining our spacecraft simulation framework. This framework enables engineers to design, test, and validate complex autonomous spaceflight systems, ensuring mission reliability. Your work will encompass vehicle physics and sensor modeling, large-scale distributed simulation frameworks, test infrastructure for backend verification, and integrated avionics and system testing.

In this role, you will:

  • Develop and maintain Hardware-in-the-Loop (HITL / HIL), Software-in-the-Loop (SITL / SIL), and simulation test infrastructure to support the design, development, and validation of Inversion’s Arc vehicle.
  • Improve scalability and performance of the simulation infrastructure by implementing distributed and cloud-based solutions.
  • Optimize and automate simulation deployment, execution, and monitoring using CI/CD pipelines for continuous integration and rapid iteration.
  • Build and maintain databases to efficiently store, manage, and analyze large volumes of simulation results, telemetry data, and test artifacts.
  • Develop tools and methodologies for simulation-based verification and validation of spacecraft systems.
  • Collaborate closely with GNC, avionics, software, and hardware teams to ensure simulation accuracy and integration across all mission-critical systems.
  • Work in a highly collaborative environment, effectively communicating across teams to align on technical solutions and project goals.
  • Proactively give and receive feedback, contributing to a culture of continuous improvement and professional growth.
    Demonstrate a strong team-oriented mindset, balancing individual responsibilities with the needs of the broader engineering team.

Required Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Software, Electrical Engineering, or a related field, with typically 6+ years of experience developing complex simulation systems.
  • Proficiency in C/C++, Python, and/or Rust in a Linux environment.
  • Experience with distributed computing and cloud-based simulation for scalability.
  • Knowledge of containerization (Docker, Kubernetes, or similar) and DevOps tools for automating simulation environments.
  • Experience with CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, Jenkins, or similar) for automated testing and deployment.
  • Experience with database management (SQL, PostgreSQL, or NoSQL solutions) for simulation data storage and retrieval.
  • Strong background in HITL / HIL, SITL / SIL, and software verification methodologies.
  • Familiarity with sensor modeling, physics-based simulation, or GNC algorithms.
  • Ability to collaborate effectively within a multidisciplinary team and contribute to a positive, high-performance engineering culture.

Desired Qualifications

  • Industry experience in spacecraft, aerospace, or robotics simulation.
  • Experience interfacing with hardware communication protocols and integrating sensor-actuator loops into simulations.
  • Prior work with state estimation, guidance navigation and control (GNC), computer vision (CV), or sensor fusion.
  • Exposure to regulatory frameworks (FAA, DoD, NASA) and the development of verification tools for compliance.

Our office headquarters is located in Playa Vista, CA. This position requires in office presence.

The California annual base salary for this role is currently $125,000 -145,000.  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. 

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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