Y Combinator Sr. Systems Engineer
Posted Updated 6
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Summary
Senior Systems Engineer at Albedo (onsite in Broomfield, CO) working on Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) spacecraft: owning system-level architecture, requirements, interface management, and performance budgets, and supporting integration, verification, and testing across GNC, avionics, payload, thermal, power, and flight software teams. Key tools include MATLAB, Simulink, and Python.
Be one of the Bedo 100
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 precision with iteration while thinking about the big picture. Individuals who are energized by creating a category rather than competing in an existing one. You’ll join a team that has already proven what others said wasn’t feasible and is now scaling and upgrading our VLEO buses & payloads to serve mission sets across sensing, communications, and responsive operations.
If you can feel the excitement running through your veins, apply to be one of the Bedo 100.
What You’ll Do:
- Contribute to the design and development of Albedo's VLEO spacecraft, driving system-level architecture, requirements definition, interface management, and technical trade studies from early mission development through on-orbit operations
- Collaborate closely with engineering teams across GNC, avionics, payload, thermal, power, and flight software to ensure seamless subsystem integration and alignment with mission objectives
- Develop, analyze, and maintain critical spacecraft performance budgets, including pointing accuracy, power, thermal, and data throughput, to inform design decisions and validate system performance
- Support spacecraft integration, verification, and testing, including functional, performance, and environmental testing, troubleshooting, and post-test analysis
- Own and maintain system requirements, interface documentation, and verification traceability, ensuring technical consistency across spacecraft platforms and missions
- Identify and resolve system-level technical challenges and integration risks, particularly those unique to VLEO operations, including atmospheric drag, atomic oxygen exposure, and high-precision pointing requirements
- Partner with customers, payload providers, and vendors to define technical interfaces, align requirements, and support successful mission execution
- Help shape and scale Albedo's systems engineering processes with opportunities to influence spacecraft design decisions and own systems engineering execution across the full mission lifecycle
Your Ideal Skills and Experience:
- 7+ years of experience in systems engineering or related roles within aerospace, preferably spacecraft or high-performance hardware platforms
- Familiarity with spacecraft subsystems (avionics, power, thermal, GNC, payload) and how they interact at the system level
- Experience developing and running system level analysis and test to meet mission objectives
- Exposure to integration and test campaigns: environmental testing, functional testing, or cross-subsystem bring-up
- Familiarity with modeling tools (e.g., MATLAB, Simulink, or Python-based frameworks) and an interest in expanding simulation skills
- Strong organizational and communication skills with attention to detail
- Curiosity and eagerness to learn, with the drive to take ownership of problems and deliver results in a fast-moving environment
- Regularly uses AI tools as essential leverage to accelerate work, improve clarity, and multiply output
Salary Range:
- $161,236 - $184,969 per year
Compensation and Benefits for Full-Time Roles:
- Employee friendly equity compensation
- 4% direct matching 401k
- Health Insurance: 100% employee coverage & 75% dependent coverage
- Parental leave and childcare coverage
- Flexible vacation and sick time from day one
- 12 company holidays
- $100 monthly wellness benefit
- Relocation package if not based in Denver
The final compensation package is subject to change if the candidate's experience and company need drive a different job level than originally slated for the position.
Albedo does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to Albedo employees. Albedo is not responsible for any fees or overhead related to unsolicited resumes.
AI Disclosure: We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to support and enhance our recruitment process. This includes recording, transcribing, analyzing, and evaluating your interview responses to ensure accurate, consistent, and efficient assessment of job-related skills, knowledge, and abilities. While AI tools may assist in this process, our human recruiting and hiring teams make all hiring decisions. For questions about AI use in interviews, data handling, or to request accommodations, contact Hello_HR@albedo.com
Additional Requirements: In compliance with federal law, all persons hired must verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire. All persons hired will be required to be a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., or a protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.
Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled: Albedo is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Relocation: Relocation support for this position is available
Applicants must be a U.S. Person as defined under 22 CFR 120.62
#LI-Onsite
Research shows that while men apply to jobs where they meet an average of 60% of the criteria, women and other underrepresented people tend to only apply when they meet 100% of the qualifications. At Albedo, we'd rather hear from you. We care more about how you think than which boxes you check. We value people who do the math, make their assumptions explicit, and ask the annoying questions: what breaks, what's the failure mode, what has to be true for this to work? If that sounds like you, apply, even if you don't meet every line.
Skills
As published by greenhouse · 4 questions
Basics
First Name, Last Name, Email, Phone, Resume/CV, Cover Letter, Location
Short answers (2)
- Preferred First Name optional
- LinkedIn Profile optional
Pick from a list (2)
- Are you open to relocating to the Denver area?
- This role involves access to export-controlled information subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), which restricts access to only U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents. Are you a U.S. Citizen or Permanent resident and able to meet this requirement?
