Embedded Software Engineer — Image Processing Algorithms

Impulse Space is seeking an Embedded Software Engineer for Image Processing Algorithms to design, implement, validate, and maintain onboard image processing software for spacecraft systems.

Responsibilities

• Develop onboard computer vision algorithms for image preprocessing, thresholding, filtering, centroiding, feature extraction, target detection, target tracking, optical navigation, star detection, and attitude or pose estimation support.
• Support image conditioning techniques such as calibration, distortion correction, dark-frame correction, thresholding, exposure control, filtering, and image normalization.
• Work with GNC, flight software, and mission teams to define algorithm performance requirements, including accuracy, latency, update rate, robustness, fault tolerance, and compute/resource constraints.
• Develop test tools, simulation environments, and analysis scripts to evaluate algorithm performance using synthetic imagery, lab imagery, ground test data, and flight-like datasets.
• Debug and tune vision software during sensor bring-up, ground testing, environmental testing, and in-flight operations.
• Contribute to fault detection, robustness, and recovery logic for cases such as poor lighting, stray light, saturation, blur, dropped frames, hot pixels, occlusions, image noise, and unexpected scene content.
• Design algorithms and data pipelines that operate within constrained CPU, memory, storage, bandwidth, timing, and power budgets.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical field.
• 2+ years of experience writing C++ code for embedded systems, preferably in imaging or robotic applications.
• Experience implementing image processing, estimation, numerical, or signal processing algorithms.
• Experience with bare-metal or RTOS-based software development.

Bonus Points

• Ability to work closely with hardware, flight software, GNC, and test teams to diagnose issues across software, sensors, timing, image quality, and system interfaces.
• Experience optimizing software for runtime, memory usage, deterministic execution, and numerical stability.
• Familiarity with low-level hardware interfaces such as SPI, I2C, UART, GPIO, timers, ADCs, DMA, and camera or image sensor interfaces.
• Strong understanding of linear algebra, coordinate frames, rotations, quaternions, camera models, or geometric vision concepts.
• Experience debugging embedded systems using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, hardware debuggers, source-level debuggers, logs, and telemetry.
• Hands-on experience developing or testing computer vision, optical navigation, star tracker, pose estimation, target tracking, inspection, or perception algorithms on microcontroller-class hardware.

Additional Information

Impulse Space’s spacecraft manufacturing business is subject to U.S. export regulations including ITAR. This position requires applicants to be U.S. Persons (citizen, national, lawful permanent resident, asylee, or refugee) or eligible to obtain an export license.

• Medical
• Vision
• Dental
• 401(k) retirement plan