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Salary: USD 170,000 - 192,000 / annual
Cowboy Space Corporation is building space-based solar energy infrastructure, launching modular, scalable satellites that collect sunlight in Low Earth Orbit. The company transmits energy via infrared lasers (space-to-earth and space-to-space), powers on-orbit high-performance computing clusters, and provides secure optical data transport. Founded in 2024 by Baiju Bhatt (co-founder of Robinhood), the company has raised ~$365 million from top-tier investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Index Ventures, and Breakthrough Energy Ventures. The team includes veterans from SpaceX, Blue Origin, Stoke Space, Astranis, and NASA.
As a Controls Software Engineer on the Pointing & Tracking team, you will own the software control loop that keeps a laser precisely pointed between two moving platforms in both satellite-to-ground and satellite-to-satellite scenarios. You will use closed-loop feedback from onboard sensors to drive fine-pointing actuators in an embedded real-time environment. This is control-systems software focused on translating control theory into robust, working real-time implementation.
Key responsibilities include: owning the pointing and tracking control loop from design through on-orbit operations; designing, implementing, and tuning closed-loop controllers using control theory (state estimation, PID, state-space, optimal control); translating control algorithms into real-time embedded Rust code; performing stability analysis and performance characterization; building simulation and analysis tools; supporting hardware integration and hardware-in-the-loop testing; developing automated test frameworks; collaborating with GNC, optics, avionics, and firmware teams; investigating on-orbit and test anomalies with root cause analysis; and developing fault detection, isolation, and recovery strategies.
The role demands deep technical ownership of a mission-critical system and requires comfort working across hardware and software boundaries in a fast-paced, high-ownership environment.
Requirements:
- 3+ years of experience in control systems, GNC, robotics, or embedded software development (or equivalent practical experience)
- Hands-on experience designing, implementing, and tuning closed-loop control systems
- Strong understanding of control theory fundamentals
- Strong programming skills in a systems language (Rust, C, or C++) with willingness to work in Rust
- Experience implementing control algorithms in a real-time or embedded context
- Experience integrating software with sensors and actuators, including debugging across the hardware/software boundary
Preferred qualifications include: Bachelor's or advanced degree in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Computer Science, or related field; experience with precision pointing, tracking, stabilization, or gimbal control systems (optical terminals, telescopes, seekers, camera stabilization); spacecraft GNC, attitude control, or high-reliability control applications in aerospace, defense, or robotics; professional Rust experience; control system modeling and simulation tools (MATLAB/Simulink, Python); hardware-in-the-loop testing and system validation; estimation and sensor fusion techniques (Kalman filters); fault-tolerant design and high-reliability system architecture; experience in fast-paced, high-ownership environments with rapid iteration.
