Senior On-board Software Architect and Designer
About Vimotek
Space is on the path to industrialization and a new economy is emerging where resources and energy will be extracted, and both products and services will be produced for consumption either in space or on Earth. The first step in this development is for satellites to transition from being standalone passive nodes in an infrastructure to being robots that actively collaborate to solve more advanced tasks. Satellites will inspect and transport each other, refuel, clean up debris, perform repairs, and collaborate to construct larger structures like solar power plants for efficient production of large amounts of fossil-free energy.
Vimotek is a SpaceTech company in Luleå that develops technical solutions which are key components to enable the emerging industrialization of space. The company's first product is targeted at companies that are constructing new satellites to perform various types of advanced missions. The product—the Vimotek NavCam 1 Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO) Kit—is a sensor package that gives satellites the ability to see and understand different objects in space, allowing them to approach and interact with them. Vimotek was founded in 2022 and are based in Luleå.
Vimotek’s solution
The Vimotek NavCam-1 RPO Kit is a subsystem for satellites—a plug-and-play product that will offer spacecraft manufacturers a scalable full solution for spacecraft vision and relative navigation, for use cases in the domains of Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO), On-Orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (OSAM), In Space Operations and Services (ISOS), Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and Space Asset Protection (SAP). The product combines three complementary vision sensors (visual camera, thermal camera, and LiDAR) with edge computing power and image processing software to provide actionable navigation data in real-time and ensure successful missions. All sensor systems and associated software are developed in-house by Vimotek.
Our unique approach to sensing and perception in space
The current way for spacecraft manufacturers and operators to gain RPO capability is to build a new technical solution for each satellite and mission, something that is both extremely expensive and does not work for all use cases due to the existing sensor technology not having the right performance. Vimotek’s solution is to develop new high-performance sensors and package them together with intelligent software into a plug-and-play product that can be used by many different customers for many different satellites and cutting-edge use cases. This approach is not the usual way of doing things; Vimotek’s solution is unique in the world.
What have we achieved so far?
Vimotek’s first solution is still under development, but the company has already started to make its mark on the space industry. Most notably, in competition with some of the large market-leading companies, Vimotek’s consortium won the call from the European Defence Fund (EDF) to create a concept for how European satellites can defend themselves against man-made threats in space.
"Bodyguard aims to develop building blocks for autonomous space situational awareness capabilities onboard satellites to increase Europe's independence and superiority in space. The project emerges as a ground-breaking collaborative initiative aimed at elevating the on-board threat detection, assessment and monitoring, as well as protection and resilience capabilities of space assets against a diverse range of threats. In close proximity, it can detect weak points of the threat satellite and counteract with a robot or laser." – The European Commission
What’s the challenge?
This role will be a key person in developing the Vimotek products and will initially be responsible for the SW architecture, defining interfaces, SW design and CI/CD. Key technical contact in discussion with strategic partners regarding SW tools and SW development of for example drivers or simulation tools. Will also take part in interaction with international space customers to understand their requirements and collaborate on prototypes and demonstrators.
Skills & Requirements
Required Skills and Qualifications:
Preferably 5 years’ experience of architecture and design of safety critical real time embedded software, preferably in languages, tools and areas like C++, C, ASM, Microcontrollers, Firmware, RTEMS, RTOS, CI/CD, Git, Jenkins, Jira, etc.
Experience preferably from space but otherwise from industry, automotive, aerospace or defense.
Familiarity with hardware interfaces, including integration with sensors and actuators. Ability to define, design, and document clear interfaces and protocols, both external customer interfaces and internal software-to-hardware.
Need to have the ability to work in a startup environment balancing high demands from customers with restricted budget and a small growing team.
A driven developer that gets things done but that also can communicate architectures and different solutions.
Team player and technical leader that together with customer and a team of young developers can quickly design and implement a SW product from concept to verification, deployment and maintenance. • Good to have would also be:
Experience with Python, MATLAB, and model-based design for algorithm development and simulation. o Familiarity with camera signals, image processing and machine learning,
ROS/ROS2 and their application to data processing and robotics
Experience in FPGA firmware development for embedded systems.
The company’s primary language is English, proficiency in additional languages is a plus.
Location: Primarily on site in Luleå, but Stockholm or hybrid can be discussed
Join Vimotek and be part of an exciting journey as we develop cutting-edge products and contribute to industrialization of space.