Bringing space closer to Earth. Backed by Y Combinator.
About the role
Albedo is building software for satellites that fly in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO). As Director of Software Engineering, you'll lead the teams developing our flight software, GNC, ground systems, and applied AI, and ensure our missions meet their autonomy and performance objectives. This role will ensure long-term growth and adaptation as the pace of software and autonomy accelerates for VLEO and beyond.
What they're looking for
- Twelve-plus years in real-time embedded, GNC, or flight software, with at least four leading software engineering managers
- Deep fluency in deterministic flight or flight-like software: timing, scheduling, fault containment, C++ on RTOS
- Track record of building simulation and HIL infrastructure that caught real bugs before flight, and post-mortem discipline that changed the pipeline when bugs survived
- Experience leading heterogeneous software teams across domains you did not personally come up through
- Real opinions on the HW/SW boundary, on-orbit vs ground compute split, and where abstractions earn their keep
More about this role
Albedo is making Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) mainstream, building the infrastructure to enable every satellite mission to enter this new orbital domain. We build buses, integrated satellites, and turnkey missions for customers to thrive in VLEO, below 300 km, where proximity compounds performance and drag self-cleans debris.
As part of the first 100 employees at Albedo, you will have a big impact on Albedo’s trajectory to proliferating VLEO — whether you’re advancing hardware to increase satellite longevity, scaling production for large constellations, building next-gen flight and ground software to push performance, or enabling missions that matter for national security and our day-to-day life here on Earth.
How We Operate: Albedo takes a first-principles approach — in space and in business. We move with speed, take calculated risks, and learn quickly. We use AI regularly to create leverage in every discipline across the company. We work in-person at our Broomfield, CO HQ to maximize team and company productivity. We work hard and with urgency to compound our first-mover advantage.
Who We're Looking For: Builders who want to own outcomes, not tasks. Systems thinkers who balance...
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