Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS) Engineer

at  fleetspace

ABOUT FLEET SPACE TECHNOLOGIES

Fleet is a space-enabled exploration technology company on a mission to dramatically accelerate the discovery of critical minerals needed to decarbonize our global economy. Electric vehicles and other clean energy technologies are vital elements of the world’s efforts to combat climate change, and these will demand many times more critical minerals than today, with an incremental value of over USD $13 trillion. At the same time, finding new mineral deposits is becoming more challenging as we increasingly exhaust the supply of shallow deposits and are forced to explore deeper underground. Traditional exploration methods are poorly suited to address this challenge, so a new approach is needed.
Our approach is to combine space technology, proprietary seismic sensors, cutting edge Ambient Noise Tomography, and machine learning to provide the world’s first scalable 3D exploration dataset with near-real-time insights to guide active exploration programs far more efficiently to new deposits. This is Fleet’s flagship product, ExoSphere - a space-enabled solution for mineral exploration in real-time, in 3D, and under cover with very low environmental impact. Since launching ExoSphere in March 2022, Fleet has signed contracts with over 30 clients including Rio Tinto, Barrick Gold and Core Lithium and completed over 120 Ambient Noise Tomography surveys, more than any other company in the world.
As part of Fleet’s founding vision to connect the Earth, Moon, and Mars, we also apply our technology to innovative solutions for defense and space exploration, including an upcoming mission to the Moon. Headquartered in Adelaide, South Australia, Fleet has rapidly grown to over 120 employees including a growing team in the USA, Canada, and beyond. We have raised over AUD $85M in venture funding, backed by premier investors including Blackbird, Grok, and In-Q-Tel; and in 2023 we were recognized by the Australian Financial Review (AFR) on their Fast 100 list - as the #1 fastest growing technology company in Australia!

KEY SKILLS AND REQUIRED EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s (Tertiary) Degree in Aerospace Engineering or a related area of study is required; advanced degree is preferred
• Experience in dynamics, feedback control systems
• Familiarity with spacecraft attitude control methods, orbital mechanics (preferred, but not required) and control theory
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills
• Global citizen with the willingness to travel for client visits, conferences and to the field as needed
• Must have full working rights in Australia or USA, depending on location of applicant
  Fleet is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Fleet is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, colour, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

THE ROLE

Fleet Space Technologies is developing its next generation of satellites. These satellites are designed to support Fleet Space’s worldwide communication network; the backbone to enable innovative products across Critical Mineral Exploration, Defense, and Space Technologies. Fleet is developing the inhouse capability to design, build and integrate hardware and software and incrementally deploy this across multiple generations of satellites; ultimately with the goal to be fully vertically integrated on the spacecraft line. It is an exciting program, with the satellite bus development starting from a clean slate. This multi-year project in motion, has the strong support from the Fleet Co-founders, Directors and Investors.
We are seeking an Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS) Engineer (aka Guidance Navigation and Control - GNC Engineer) to join our Satellite Team. Reporting to the Lead Spacecraft Engineer, the ADCS Engineer will work closely with the Spacecraft team, System Engineers and as well as the various engineering and cross-functional teams on a wide range of projects. Experience in the satellite control area is needed to be successful in this role; ideally expertise across electronics, closed-loop and coding (Matlab/C/C++/Python are highly desired).
This role is for someone goal-driven, capable of working independently and ambitious. You’ll be part of a small, agile and ambitious spacecraft team that has already delivered deploying & operating satellites in orbit. There is opportunity to allow the creative juices to flow and to make a deeply meaningful contribution to the satellite development program from the ground up - truly a very unique and incredible opportunity!

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

This role will be responsible for, but not limited to:

• Design, develop and test Cubesat ADCS subsystem components and algorithms (both COTS and Fleet designed ADCS components)
• Conduct analysis for component sizing selection
• Conduct strategic make vs. buy decisions
• Develop the closed-loop control algorithms
• Provide support for the software development
• Work with validation engineers to test and verify ADCS requirements and performance
• Represent Fleet and present results at relevant conferences, University and/or networking events
• Stay up to date with latest advancements in Satellite technology
• Support On-Orbit operations
• Additional duties as reasonably requested by the business