About this opportunity
EVONA lists this Senior / Principal Flight Software Engineer - Spacecraft Payloads opportunity in santa clara, California. Review the employer’s description below for duties, qualifications and application requirements.
Job description
Senior / Principal Flight Software Engineer - Spacecraft Payloads
Early-Stage Space Technology Company
I’m working with a rapidly growing space technology company developing advanced spacecraft payload systems for both commercial and government missions.
They’re looking for an experienced Flight Software Engineer to take significant ownership of payload flight software - from architecture and development through spacecraft integration, verification, commissioning and ultimately on-orbit operations.
This is a broad, highly hands-on position for someone who wants to work close to the hardware and have genuine influence over how flight software is built as the company scales.
What you'll be doing
Design and develop flight software for advanced spacecraft payloads
Own architecture across command & control, telemetry, data handling, health monitoring, fault protection and autonomous operations
Develop primarily in C++ and/or Rust within Linux environments
Lead payload-to-spacecraft software integration, working directly with spacecraft vendors and external engineering partners
Define software interfaces, ICDs, timing requirements, communications and data flows
Develop SIL/HIL test environments, automated test frameworks and flight-software verification infrastructure
Work directly with electronics, sensors, communications systems and payload hardware during integration and testing
Support spacecraft-level integration, environmental testing and mission-readiness activities
Participate in commissioning and on-orbit operations, including telemetry analysis, anomaly resolution and flight-software updates
Work closely with electrical, optical, RF, controls, systems, mechanical and mission-operations engineers
Help establish flight-software architecture, development standards and engineering practices as the organization grows
What they're looking for
5+ years developing embedded, real-time, distributed or mission-critical software
Strong C++ and/or Rust
Experience architecting and testing complex embedded software
Comfortable working across the hardware/software boundary
Experience troubleshooting systems involving software, electronics, communications, sensors or other hardware
Ability to take significant technical ownership and operate effectively in a small engineering team
Strong communication skills when working with internal teams, spacecraft vendors and external partners
Particularly relevant experience
Any combination of the following would stand out:
Spacecraft or payload flight software
cFS, F Prime or similar flight-software frameworks
Ethernet, CAN, UART, SpaceWire, CCSDS or TCP/IP
Command and telemetry systems
Fault detection, isolation and recovery FDIR
Autonomous spacecraft or robotic systems
Complex sensors, optical systems, RF systems or scientific payloads
SIL / HIL / processor-in-the-loop testing
Spacecraft integration and environmental test campaigns
Ground systems and mission operations
Spacecraft commissioning or on-orbit support
High-reliability / fault-tolerant software
Why consider it?
This is an opportunity to join a small space company at a stage where you can have genuine ownership rather than inheriting a mature software stack.
You’ll be involved across the full lifecycle:
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Worksite address
santa clara, CA, 95053, US
Who can apply
Review the original listing for work authorization, qualifications and employer requirements.