Senior Controls Engineer (PAT)

As a Senior Acquisition, Tracking & Pointing Controls Engineer, you will lead the development of the pointing and tracking subsystem for our FSO laser communication terminal. You will design the algorithms and controls (both software and hardware). This role blends optics, sensors, and control theory. This role is on-site and will interface heavily with the optical, photonics, and modem teams to ensure an integrated design.

Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end pointing, acquisition, and tracking (PAT) architecture for the FSO system to achieve sub-µrad pointing stability; develop pointing budgets that account for spacecraft attitude dynamics, thermal drift, and atmospheric disturbance, and allocate error to subsystems.
• Design and implement algorithms to rapidly acquire transmitter and maintain lock.
• Develop the control loops for fast steering mirrors (FSM) or precision actuators to actively suppress jitter and beam wander. Tune controllers to mitigate disturbances and minimize pointing error.
• Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) Testing: Build a testbed to validate PAT performance, including hardware-in-loop simulations.
• Rapidly prototype algorithms and simulations to flesh out design
• Support troubleshooting and iteration during optical alignment sessions and system tests.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s in Aerospace Engineering, Controls/Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics or similar field.
• 5+ years of experience working on pointing, tracking, or guidance/control systems (such as satellite attitude control, gimbal systems, or optical tracking systems).
• Strong foundation in control theory and signal processing. Experience designing and tuning feedback control loops for high-precision systems.
• Knowledge of sensor fusion and state estimation.
• Understanding of optical pointing mechanisms, pointing errors, and jitter spectra.
• Experience with gimbals, fast steering mirrors, precision opto-mechanical actuators or similar hardware.
• Proficiency in programming for algorithm development and real-time implementation.
• Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot complex hardware/software systems in a lab or field environment.

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Spacecraft GNC: Direct experience with spacecraft attitude determination and control systems or optical payload pointing. Familiarity with how satellite attitude control systems interact with a high-precision payload pointing system.
• Experience working on free-space optical communication pointing/tracking systems or telescopes; e.g., previous development of PAT for laser communications, optical telescopes for imaging satellites, or line-of-sight stabilization for airborne lasers.
• Exposure to adaptive optics systems or tip-tilt correction in telescopes enabling high-frequency correction of beam pointing.
• Experience with low-latency hardware implementations of control loops; e.g., using FPGAs, DSPs, or real-time operating systems to achieve control loop frequencies in the kHz range. Familiarity with FPGA development toolchains for implementing high-speed tracking algorithms.
• Aerospace-environment experience is preferred; e.g., designing control systems or sensors that flew on spacecraft or aircraft.
• Hands-on experience with implementing control algorithms in embedded systems or FPGAs.
• Experience setting up experiments and test platforms for control systems (motion platforms, optical setups, etc.).

Additional Information

Compensation bands are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual level and base pay is determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on job-related skills, education, experience, technical capabilities and internal equity. In addition to base salary, for full-time hires, you may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of stock options, and access to medical, vision & dental coverage as well as access to a 401(k) retirement plan.

Impulse Space’s spacecraft manufacturing business is subject to U.S. export regulations including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR). This position requires applicants to be either U.S. Persons (i.e., U.S. citizen, U.S. national, lawful permanent U.S. resident (green card holder), an individual granted asylum in the U.S., or an individual admitted in U.S. refugee status) or persons eligible to obtain an export license from the U.S. Departments of State, Commerce, or other applicable U.S. government agencies. Learn more about the ITAR here .

Impulse Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Impulse Space is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.