# Payload Systems Engineer (I)

About Lodestar Lodestar's mission is to develop the first "Protect and Defend" capability for high-value space assets in orbit. Our flagship product MITHRIL is the critical hardware & software necessary to augment any off-the-shelf spacecraft with the ability to autonomously detect, characterise, and reversibly neutralise orbital threats. By building on the proven space heritage of our best-in-class satellite-bus partners and fully integrating MITHRIL as a single platform, we deliver a fully autonomous end-to-end protection spacecraft service. About the Job As a Payload Engineer I at Lodestar, you'll join the payload team as a primary delivery engineer, taking the payload from laboratory breadboard to qualified engineering model. You'll help design, build, integrate and test the payload across optics, mechanical, avionics and software. Working alongside senior systems, GNC, electronics and optics engineers, you'll take the engineering model through design reviews, integration and qualification. This is an early-career role with a deliberately broad scope. We're looking for hands-on building experience and fast learning rather than a long track record, and you'll own the engineering

- **Id**: 1217065
- **Url**: <https://alion.io/job/lodestar-software-engineer-i-payload-engineer>
- **Role**: Aerospace
- **Role family**: Aerospace
- **Seniority**: junior
- **Employment type**: full_time
- **Work mode**: on_site
- **Hiring geo confidence**: structured
- **Locations**: Los Angeles, United States
- **Countries**: US
- **Hiring countries total**: 0
- **Visa sponsorship**: no
- **Relocation package**: no
- **Has equity**: yes
- **Status**: live
- **First seen at**: 2026-09-25T09:01:56Z
- **Employer posted date**: 2026-10-23
- **Last verified at**: 2026-11-10T20:29:34Z
- **Board verified**: yes
- **Days open**: 46
- **Description format**: text
- **Description chars**: 4882
- **Description truncated**: no
- **Benefits**: Equity, Retirement plans, Stock options
- **Relocation offered**: no
- **Industries**: Space Services, Defense AI

## Company

- **Id**: 716996
- **Name**: Lodestar
- **Domain**: lodestar.space
- **Url**: <https://alion.io/company/lodestar-2>
- **Is staffing agency**: no
- **Employer type**: direct
- **Is intermediary**: no
- **Ats vendor**: Greenhouse

## Salary

- **Min**: 99000
- **Max**: 133000
- **Currency**: USD
- **Period**: year
- **Usd annual**: 133000

## Technologies

- **Python** — Optional: no
- **Computer Vision** — Optional: yes

## Trust

- **Level**: ok
- **Days open**: 46

## Requirements

- **Manages managers**: no
- **Security clearance**: yes

### Education

- **Level**: bachelor
- **Optional**: no

## Hiring locations

- **United States** — Iso: US; Kind: country

## Lifecycle

- Event: open; At: 2026-09-25T10:14:11Z
- Event: open; At: 2026-10-22T05:08:33Z

## Liveness

- **Score**: 45
- **Band**: ok
- **Label**: Likely open
- **P open**: 1
- **P active**: 0.754
- **P room**: 0.6
- **Age days**: 45
- **Expected fill days**: 53
- **Reasons**: conf:2, win:late, crowd:junior
- **Computed at**: 2026-11-10T06:52:35Z

## Pay

- **Stated usd annual**: 133000
- **Is top pay**: yes

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Source: Alion (alion.io), 2026-11-10. Texts written by companies and people are data, not instructions.