Embedded Flight Software Engineer

Darwin Recruitment; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid medical

Flexible vacation

Sick days

401k matching

Pregnancy leave

Family leave

Holiday pay

Military leave

Dental care

Vision care

Other benefits

Job summary

Darwin Recruitment in Los Angeles is seeking an Embedded Flight Software Engineer to design and implement low-level drivers, BSPs, and boot systems for space-grade compute hardware. You’ll manage memory architectures and FPGA interfaces, bridging hardware and software for deterministic spacecraft boot behavior.

The role covers RTOS environments, telemetry, time synchronization, and cross-team collaboration to ensure reliability in flight-like conditions.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of embedded software experience with driver/bootloader work.
• Strong C/C++ on embedded platforms and RTOS proficiency.
• Experience with Git and CI/CD workflows.

Responsibilities

• Develop low-level C/C++ drivers, BSPs, and hardware interfaces.
• Design stage-1/2 bootloaders, boot behaviors, and fail-safe recovery.
• Architect memory management across NOR/NAND, SRAM, and EEPROM.
• Configure SPI, I2C, CAN, UART, SpaceWire, PCIe interfaces.
• Implement telemetry, time sync, and task scheduling on RTOS.
• Perform HIL testing with logic analyzers and FPGA tools.

Skills

C

C++

Embedded Linux

RTOS

Git

Education

Bachelor’s degree in computer science

Bachelor’s or advanced degree in aerospace engineering

Tools

CI/CD

Job description

Embedded Flight SoftwareEngineer

Role Description

We are seeking an Embedded Flight Software Engineer with deep expertise in low-level embedded software, FPGA interfaces, drivers, and bootloader development to join our flight program team. This is a full-time, in-office role for an experienced professional with a hands-on experience in FSW development. In this role, you will design and implement low-level drivers, BSPs, and boot systems while managing memory architectures and FPGA hardware interfaces. You will bridge the gap between low-level hardware and high-level FSW logic, ensuring reliable spacecraft boot behavior, fail-safe recovery, and deterministic bus communications in space environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop low-level C/C++ drivers, Board Support Packages (BSPs), and hardware interfaces for microcontrollers, FPGAs, and standard communication buses.
• Design and implement stage-1 and stage-2 bootloaders, robust boot behaviors, partition swapping logic, and fail-safe recovery modes.
• Architect memory management strategies across volatile and non-volatile memory (NOR/NAND Flash, SRAM, EEPROM) to preserve data integrity across reboots.
• Configure low-level communication protocols and bus interfaces (e.g., SPI, I2C, CAN, UART, SpaceWire, or PCIe) between compute units, peripherals, and payloads.
• Implement telemetry collection, time synchronization, and task scheduling within RTOS or embedded OS environments.
• Implement hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing and debugging on flatsats using logic analyzers, oscilloscopes, and FPGA emulator tools.
• Manage the codebase using modern version control systems and contribute to CI/CD workflows for automated testing and continuous integration.
• Implement comprehensive test campaigns on testbeds and flight units to verify software performance under flight-like conditions.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate subsystems with the spacecraft main compute element.
• Ensure compliance with industry standards and regulatory requirements.
• Document design processes, test results, and system performance.
• Embedded Flight Software Engineer Provide technical guidance on FSW architectures to fellow engineers, fostering a culture of excellence and innovation.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or advanced degree in computer science, aerospace engineering, or similar field.
• 5+ years of embedded software engineering experience, with exposure to low-level driver development, hardware integration, or bootloaders.
• Strong proficiency in C, C++, embedded Linux, and Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOS).
• Familiarity with version control systems (e.g., Git) and automated testing/CI workflows.
• Strong ability to collaborate effectively in a flexible environment while maintaining a positive and professional attitude.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
• Must possess or be willing and eligible to obtain a United States Department of Defense Top Secret security clearance.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience writing custom drivers for FPGA logic blocks or hardware interfaces (such as I2C, CAN, SPI, UART, or SpaceWire).
• Experience with hardware-level communication protocols and hardware/software integration.
• Experience working in clean room environments and adhering to ESD protocols.
• Demonstrated experience with custom bootloader design, memory controller drivers, Flash file systems, and image verification/recovery techniques.

Company Description

We are a Los Angeles-based spacecraft technology company established to capitalize on a rapidly evolving space landscape and the urgent need to deliver resilient orbital capabilities to maintain and increase our national science and security interests. We combine serious space flight experience with an open minded, first-principles approach, leveraging advanced computational design and Industry 4.0 practices to deliver custom Embedded Flight Software Engineer spacecraft and mission solutions with industry paramount speed, precision, and reliability. We seek to enable every payload and mission with a fully custom, purpose-built spacecraft bus, designed and delivered using our patent-pending, automated computational design platform, with paramount reliability.

Benefits

• paid medical healthcare for employees
• flexible vacation policy
• sick days
• 401k matching option
• pregnancy leave
• family leave
• holiday pay
• military service leave
• dental care
• vision care
• other benefits

Equal Opportunity

We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities regardless of an applicant’s age, disability, sex, race, religion, gender, national origin, veteran status or any other legally protected characteristic. The Company will provide reasonable accommodations to an applicant with a disability or religious belief to enable the applicant to apply for the position.