Chief Software Engineer, Space Systems, TS/SCI

Rocket Lab USA; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 198,000 - 297,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discounted employee stock purchase

Subsidized EV charging stations

Onsite gym

Food and drinks

Other discounts

Job summary

Rocket Lab USA in Long Beach, CA, is hiring a Senior Principal Software Engineer (TS/SCI) to lead flight and ground software for a major constellation program. You will design scalable architectures, develop flight software for RTOS, and collaborate with systems teams to ensure mission success.

The role requires 15+ years in aerospace software, U.S. citizenship, and active TS/SCI clearance. Base pay for CA ranges from $198,000 to $297,000 USD with comprehensive benefits.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of professional software development experience, including embedded systems and ground software.
• Proven expertise in architecting scalable and reliable software systems for aerospace or defense applications.
• Proficiency in C and C++ for embedded software development and Python for testing.
• Experience with both DIO and AIO (Digital and Analog Inputs and Outputs).
• Experience with integrating hardware, including implementing ICDs, and debugging.
• Experience with deriving the Flight Software architecture from the electrical design including reading a master ICD list and/or schematics.
• Experience with RF ground to space communication.
• U.S. citizenship is required, due to program requirements
• Active TS/SCI clearance is required

Responsibilities

• Lead software architecture design for flight and ground systems.
• Develop flight software for RTOS such as VxWorks or embedded Linux.
• Build ground software systems to support spacecraft operations.
• Test and validate systems within CI frameworks and hardware-in-the-loop environments.
• Provide technical direction and mentorship to engineering teams.
• Support on-orbit operations and mission-critical software performance

Skills

Embedded software development

Software architecture

Flight software

Real-Time OS

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, or related technical discipline

Tools

C and C++ for embedded software development

Python for testing

ICDs and schematics reading

Job description

Rocket Lab USA in Long Beach, CA, is hiring a Senior Principal Software Engineer (TS/SCI) to lead flight and ground software for a major constellation program. You will design scalable architectures, develop flight software for RTOS, and collaborate with systems teams to ensure mission success.

The role requires 15+ years in aerospace software, U.S. citizenship, and active TS/SCI clearance. Base pay for CA ranges from $198,000 to $297,000 USD with comprehensive benefits.