Senior Simulation Engineer

Job Description

AST SpaceMobile is building the first and only global cellular broadband network in space to operate directly with standard, unmodified mobile devices based on our extensive IP and patent portfolio and designed for both commercial and government applications. Our engineers and space scientists are on a mission to eliminate the connectivity gaps faced by today’s five billion mobile subscribers and finally bring broadband to the billions who remain unconnected.

Software Simulation Engineer

AST SpaceMobile and our global partners are building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network to be accessible by standard smartphones. Called SpaceMobile, this ultra-powerful network is being designed to provide connectivity at 4G/5G speeds everywhere on the planet – on land, at sea and in flight.

Summary:

AST SpaceMobile is looking to hire a Software Engineer for a software-in-the-loop (SIL) simulation group. The primary product, referred to as the dynamic spacecraft simulator (DSS), provides a testbed and integration environment for a wide variety of subsystems on our satellites, including navigation, payload, power, FDIR, and TT&C. The candidate will work as part of a team responsible for developing and ensuring the fidelity of a variety of C++-based software models, integrating software from other teams into the environment, driving integration testing between various subsystems, and further developing the overall simulation environment. The ideal candidate will be capable of both digging into the details of interface control documents (ICD) and making informed architectural decisions about large, distributed software systems.

Duties & Responsibilities :

• Contribute to the ongoing development of and maintenance of several generations of software-based spacecraft simulators
• Implement and add functionality to software models of hardware components
• Maintain and update simulation code as requirements and/or technologies change
• Collaborate with other engineering disciplines in planning, design, and development of simulation interfaces to ensure software and hardware performance and compatibility
• Drive integration testing between different subsystems owned by diverse stakeholders—ability to debug complicated systems, and find working compromises between groups with divergent priorities

Minimum Qualifications:

• At least 8-9 years of professional experience working with C++
• Proficient with modern C++, ideally C++17, and the C++ standard library
• Proficient at reading and modeling a system based on an ICD
• Familiar with CMake
• Proficient with Git
• Comfort with multi-process computing and distributed computing
• Comfort with GNU/Linux and common unix tools
• Some level of familiarity with concepts of embedded programming such as:
  • Serial interfaces
  • Registers
  • Timers
  • Cross-Compiling
• Ability to work in a remote, distributed team

Preferred Qualifications:

1. Comfort with concepts of Embedded Software
2. Any experience with spacecraft or other real-time systems
3. Proficient with modeling physical components (e.g. battery charge, discharge, thermals)
4. Familiar with AWS
5. Proficient in Python
6. Proficient with bash/shell scripting

AST SpaceMobile is an Equal Opportunity, at will Employer; employment is governed based on 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.

AST SpaceMobile is an Equal Opportunity, at will Employer; employment 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.