Staff Flight Software Engineer, Interplanetary Sciences Program
$181,000–$248,500 year
On-site · Long Beach, California, United States
Job Summary
Staff Flight Software Engineer for the Interplanetary Sciences Program focused on design, development, and deployment of flight-critical embedded software governing spacecraft behavior from concept through flight. Own full software lifecycle including requirements capture, architecture, design, implementation, integration, testing, and flight operations support. Collaborate with avionics, GNC, propulsion, and mission operations to ensure seamless software-hardware integration. Develop verification and validation processes for flight safety and mission success; support on-vehicle and hardware-in-the-loop testing and mission simulations. Requires a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a technical field and 7+ years of embedded or real-time flight software experience; strong C++, RTOS/Linux experience; ability to work autonomously in a collaborative, fast-paced environment. Nice-to-haves include spaceflight software experience, deep-space communication protocols, Python or Rust tooling, HIL, embedded networking, and knowledge of NASA aerospace standards.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related field
- 7+ years of experience developing, testing, and delivering embedded or real-time flight software
- Strong proficiency in C++ and memory management, concurrency, and embedded systems design
- Experience with RTOS or Linux-based embedded development, software integration, and system-level testing
- Proven ability to scope open-ended problems, autonomous delivery of high-quality software
- Ability to work collaboratively in a fast-paced team environment
Desired Qualifications
- Experience with spaceflight software development
- Embedded/real-time flight software
- C++ proficiency
- RTOS or Linux-based embedded development
- Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing
- V&V processes for flight software
- Experience collaborating with avionics, GNC, propulsion, and mission operations teams
- Knowledge of NASA or aerospace software standards (preferred)
- Python or Rust for tooling, testing, or simulation (preferred)
- Background in fault-tolerant system design (preferred)
- Strong communication and teamwork skills
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related field
- 7+ years of experience in relevant software development roles
- Ability to work in fast-paced, collaborative environment
Apply with one swipe on Sorce. We auto-fill applications and apply on your behalf — no cover letters, no 40-minute forms.
Hiring someone like this?
Get your role in front of qualified candidates on Sorce.