Principal Flight Software Engineer

Job Description

Principal Flight Software Engineer

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Location: Denver, Colorado (Onsite)

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Type: Permanent, full-time

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Building satellites is one thing. Commanding and controlling them once they are in orbit is another.

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We are working with a high growth American aerospace and defence communications company that designs, manufactures and tests advanced communication systems and satellites entirely in US facilities. This is a business scaling fast, with more customer demand across government, defence and commercial aerospace than they can currently handle.

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Their flagship satellite programme launches its first mission in October this year, with 8 launches secured through 2029. It is one of the largest, most powerful LEO satellites being built.

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They are now looking for a Principal Flight Software Engineer to act as technical leader for spacecraft flight software on this programme. This is a small, high impact team building many systems from scratch, working in a fast-iteration environment where requirements evolve and engineers own real subsystems rather than a slice of one.

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What you'll be doing:

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• Acting as technical leader for spacecraft flight software, from architecture through to in-orbit operations
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• Writing embedded C code from scratch for real-time command and control of the satellite
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• Working within the NASA cFS (Core Flight System) framework
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• Reviewing code and system designs, and analysing code for efficiency, stability and scalability
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• Hands-on development and troubleshooting of software systems and hardware, including motors and power distribution units
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• Supporting software quality assurance and optimising I/O performance
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• Supporting integration, test and mission operations
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• Working closely with GNC, hardware and mission operations teams
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• Assessing third-party and open-source software for use across the platform
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• Presenting design review material to customers and the executive team, and contributing to proposal-writing efforts
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• Mentoring junior engineers and acting as a subject matter expert across the software team
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What we're looking for:

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• 9+ years of industry experience with a Bachelor's degree, or 7+ years with a Master's, in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering
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• Satellite or spacecraft flight software experience, ideally with prior tech lead or subsystem ownership
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• Strong hands-on C programming
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• C++
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• Experience developing multiple flight software systems
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• Hands-on development and troubleshooting of software systems and hardware
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• Comfortable working with changing requirements and fast iteration cycles
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• Experience interfacing a variety of open-source software to create an integrated system
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• Familiarity with software configuration management tools, defect tracking tools and peer review
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• Excellent understanding of multi-threaded applications and resource management
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• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, this role includes customer facing design reviews
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Nice to have:

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• Experience with NASA cFS specifically
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• Experience operating systems you have built through to production
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• Broader embedded systems experience across C and C++
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• Familiarity with ARM processors and fully-featured microcontrollers
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• Experience with satellite operations or mission data systems, including COSMOS
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• Experience designing and developing a Software Development Kit (SDK)
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• Ability to read electronics schematics and component data sheets
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Why join:

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• Be part of a confirmed, launching mission, not a roadmap promise
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• Small team structure with genuine ownership of systems end to end
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• Full-time employment includes company stock options and a generous benefits package covering health, dental, vision, HSA, FSA, life, disability and retirement plans
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Please note: due to US Government Space Technology Export Regulations, applicants must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, conditional resident, asylee or refugee, or otherwise eligible to obtain the required authorisations from the U.S. Department of State.

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Apply now or contact Ciara Holmes at EVONA for a confidential conversation.