4100_Navigation Payload System Engineer

■ Company Overview

ArkEdge Space Inc. is a space startup founded in 2018, specializing in the design, manufacturing, and operation of small satellites. We focus on the development of ultra-small satellites, particularly 6U to 200 kg-class satellites, as well as the creation of satellite constellations (networks of multiple satellites). In addition, we offer a wide range of services, including the provision of related components and software, as well as the operation of ground stations for satellite control.

With the mission of "Empowering people with satellites for a prosperous future," we strive to make space development and utilization accessible to everyone. We are developing ultra-small satellite constellations for various missions, such as Earth observation, maritime satellite communication (satellite VDES), optical communication, and LEO-PNT.

Furthermore, we are also supporting humanity's next frontier with satellite infrastructure development for lunar activities and deep-space exploration. By pioneering these initiatives, we contribute to the creation of a new space industry ecosystem beyond Earth.

■ Job Overview

As the architect of the navigation payload, you will establish the overall design philosophy of the payload for LEO-PNT (Low Earth Orbit Positioning, Navigation, and Timing) and LNSS (Lunar Navigation Satellite System). How to combine the subsystems, in what signal format, and to what level of performance: you will define "how this payload is built" itself, and this position also covers the systems engineering required to realize that design as actual hardware.

The following is the scope of this position. You will not be responsible for all of it on your own; the areas you mainly cover are set according to your experience, expertise, and grade (junior to architect).

■ Specific Responsibilities

• Establish the overall architecture and design philosophy of the navigation payload (determine subsystem configurations and signal formats)
• System-level trade-off analysis (design decisions across performance, cost, and schedule)
• Establish system requirements and the error budget (performance requirements, error-budget allocation, interface definition) and ensure consistency with the overall satellite system
• Develop specifications for, and ensure consistency across, each subsystem (time keeping system, GNSS receiver, onboard ephemeris generation, navigation signal transmission)
• Study and design the on-orbit operations sequence of the navigation payload
• Systems engineering to realize the design as hardware (specification development, interface design, documentation: system design documents, interface specifications, test plans, etc.)
• Define the system-level verification strategy, and plan and conduct tests
• Bridge the high-level design philosophy and quantitative performance requirements to each development team; conduct technical negotiation, specification coordination, and reviews with external contractors and partners
• Project progress management, and system-level risk analysis and quality control

■ Role Opportunities

• Bring together specialized areas such as time keeping, GNSS receivers, and signal design; rather than staying within a single component's specialty, you design and lead the entire navigation payload as a system, owning the full picture of what it achieves and to what accuracy
• Engage in the design of a positioning system (LEO-PNT / LNSS) that is among the first of its kind even in the private sector worldwide
• In an environment where everything from the payload to the satellite that carries it is designed and manufactured in-house, get involved in "how it is built," from design philosophy to signal format
• Opportunities to collaborate with government and international partners including JAXA, NASA, and ESA (such as participation in the LunaNet standardization discussions)
• Opportunities to participate in and present at international conferences and to publish research
• The design philosophy you shape is carried through demonstration satellites into future social infrastructure, letting you experience your design working in space over the mid-to-long term

■ Team & Culture

We foster an open and collaborative culture in which team members are encouraged to ask questions, share ideas, and constructively challenge established approaches, regardless of seniority or title. Our engineers come from both the space-sector and other technical backgrounds. We value the specialist knowledge of experienced space professionals alongside the fresh perspectives and transferable skills brought by people entering the industry. This diversity helps us respect proven experience while continuing to question conventional wisdom.

Approximately 10% of our employees are international, and some meetings and activities are conducted in English. We also use translation and communication tools to support collaboration across languages. As much of our technical work and wider company communication takes place in Japanese, international team members should be willing to learn Japanese and make an active effort to communicate across language barriers. At the same time, we continually work to include non-native speakers and encourage all employees to contribute to broader discussions about diversity, inclusion, and how we can improve our workplace culture.

■ Tools Used

• OS: Windows, Linux
• Code management: GitHub
• Task management: GitHub Projects V2 / GitHub Issues
• Version control: Git
• Languages: C, C++, Python, MATLAB/Simulink, etc.
• Simulation: Various GNSS simulation tools
• AI: ChatGPT Business/Codex, Gemini, NotebookLM Plus, Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Cognition Devin
• PC: Provided based on personal preference
• Communication: Slack, Zoom
• Groupware: Google Workspace

■ Selection Process

Document Screening ＞ First Interview ＞ Second Interview (Aptitude Test) ＞ Final Interview

• Practical experience in the field of satellite positioning (GNSS/PNT): involvement in the development or evaluation of a positioning system or its subsystems (navigation payload / receiver / navigation signal / orbit and time determination / correction and monitoring systems, etc.)
• Experience that goes beyond conceptual design to define specifications, design, test, and evaluate at the level of hardware (components/equipment as real units) or the implementation of software-defined receivers and signal processing

Experience limited to application development that only uses GNSS is out of scope.

• Experience leading system-architecture design and trade-off analysis for the entire payload (for senior / architect-oriented candidates)
• Experience understanding multiple payload subsystems (timekeeping, receiver, signal, orbit/time determination, etc.) across domains and integrating and aligning them
• Systems engineering practice such as requirements definition, specification development, and interface design
• Experience designing or developing space equipment or high-reliability systems (aerospace, defense, precision instruments)
• Experience designing or verifying onboard processing systems such as FPGA or embedded microcontrollers
• Experience with testing and verification using GNSS simulators
• Practical experience with development processes compliant with space/aviation standards, such as requirements management and FMEA
• Experience in technical negotiation and specification coordination with external vendors and partners
• Technical documentation (Japanese and English) and handling international conferences in English
• Willingness to work in a Japanese-language environment for technical documentation and communication

We welcome candidates from outside the space industry, including those who have worked deeply in related technical areas such as aerospace, defense, communications, precision instruments, and automotive.

• Someone who can render the entire payload as a single, coherent design: holding a system-level design philosophy rather than optimizing subsystems in isolation, and able to logically evaluate trade-offs even outside their own area
• Someone who can keep facing problems with no established answer, forming hypotheses, verifying them, and translating them into design
• Someone who can propagate technical decisions across the team (Pay it Forward), sharing "why this specification" while collaborating
• Someone who can commit to the mission with a mid-to-long-term perspective (Mission Commitment)