Chief Software Architect - Spaceflight Systems

World Aquatics; Ivry-sur-Seine; Hybrid; EUR 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity package

Competitive compensation

International team

Job summary

Gama is a NewSpace startup based in Ivry-sur-Seine, near Paris, seeking a Head of Software to own the software organisation across flight, test, infrastructure, and GNC. You will set architecture, enforce standards, hire and mentor engineers, and drive production-grade delivery while integrating AI across teams.

You will lead a small, capable team working with embedded Rust and C/C++ on space-qualified systems, with direct influence on telemetry and HITL pipelines.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in software engineering with 3+ years leading engineers.
• Strong systems programming in C, C++, Rust for safety-critical systems.
• Delivered end-to-end software from design to production.
• Raising engineering standards in a small team.
• Fluent professional English.

Responsibilities

• Own software architecture across flight, test, infrastructure, and GNC.
• Set and enforce engineering standards: code quality, CI, release process.
• Lead and grow the software team: hiring, onboarding, mentoring.
• Expand the use of AI within the software team.
• Deliver flight-grade embedded software and own lifecycle.
• Oversee HITL and telemetry system design and operation.

Skills

Senior software engineer

C/C++ Rust

Safety-critical systems

English proficiency

Team leadership

Tools

HITL tooling

Telemetry pipelines

Job description

Our team is the secret to our success. We are proud to be working with inspiring colleagues who are smart, fun, ambitious and looking for the challenge to transform an industry. Do you think this could be you?

To materialize our vision, we are looking for a Head of Software. In this role, you will own the software organisation at Gama - flight, test, infrastructure, and GNC/simulation software - from architecture and engineering standards to hiring and delivery.

Software is the digital backbone of everything we fly. Our power systems run on embedded code, are qualified on hardware-in-the-loop benches, and are validated in orbital simulation before they ever see a launch. Today that stack is built by a team of about 6 engineers. You will take it from prototype to production-grade. You report to the VP of Engineering and you stay close to the code. You set the architecture in direct interaction with the team members, review the critical paths, and are the final technical authority on what ships.

The scope covers four domains:

• Flight software - embedded software (Rust) running on flight systems: power management control, solar array drive control, and satellite vehicle and solar array drive guidance algorithms
• Test software - Hardware In The Loop (HITL) benches
• Data Infrastructure - the telemetry & storage pipeline
• GNC & simulation - the simulation framework to develop and test vehicle and solar array drive control algorithms and to simulate orbital power generation for product design and HITL testing

Your mission will be to:

• Own the software architecture across flight, test, infrastructure, and GNC: decide what gets built, how, and in what order, and make sure the four domains fit together as one system
• Set and enforce engineering standards: code quality, code review, test coverage, CI, and a release process rigorous enough for code that flies in space
• Lead and grow the software team: define roles, hire, onboard, mentor, and manage engineers; be the technical reference for software design across the company
• Expand the use of AI within the software team
• Deliver flight-grade embedded software and own it throughout its lifecycle
• Oversee the design, implementation, and operation of HITL and the telemetry system

Profile required

• 8+ years of software engineering, including 3+ years leading engineers either as a tech lead, manager, or head of a small team, with hiring and performance management experience
• Deep systems programming background in a performance-critical language (C, C++, Rust, or equivalent) with software shipped on physical hardware: space, aerospace, automotive, robotics, drones, or another constrained, safety-critical industry
• At least one full development cycle delivered end-to-end, from blank sheet to production-grade, maintained software
• A track record of raising engineering standards in a small team while accelerating progress
• You thrive in an environment centered around radical ownership
• Professional level English

Nice to have:

• Flight software experience on satellites or launchers
• Rust experience in embedded or simulation and tooling
• Interest in championing AI across Gama’s engineering tooling beyond the software team itself - for example CAD, thermal/structural simulation, test data analysis - and in building the internal software that lets engineers design faster and better
• GNC or orbital simulation: vehicle dynamics, orbit propagation, environment models
• Telemetry at scale: time-series databases, data pipelines, Grafana
• French language speaking

Company description

Gama is a NewSpace startup based in Ivry-sur-Seine, near Paris. We are developing a next-generation power system for commercial LEO satellites — from solar array power conversion to battery energy storage. We design, build, and test our hardware in-house, and we move fast: our engineers see their designs go from schematic to flight hardware.

We are a small team where ownership matters: you own your subsystem end-to-end, from first calculations to test results. We work hands-on, we help each other without ego, and we treat mistakes as data — finding out why something failed is how we get better.

We offer:
- Your work will fly. Contribute directly to the future of space exploration and Sustainable Space.
- Access to cutting-edge facilities and development opportunities in the heart of the European space industry.
- A steep personal development path, working alongside world class aerospace engineers.
- Equity package and competitive compensation.
- A highly talented, dynamic and international team.
- Relocation support for international hires, where needed.

You do not need to meet every requirement to apply. If this role excites you and you meet many, but not all, of the criteria, we would be glad to hear from you. We value potential and support growth into the role.