Embedded Software Engineer

Socket.dev; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Craig Technologies seeks an Embedded Software / Flight Software Engineer for Houston, TX (also Merritt Island, FL). You will architect, implement, and verify core flight software for satellites in cislunar and lunar orbits, delivering high‑reliability, deterministic code for real-time operations and fault recovery beyond Earth's magnetosphere.

The role requires deep hardware/software integration, low-level debugging, and experience with I/O timing, test equipment, and aviation-grade software

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Physics, or related engineering field; 5–10 years embedded flight systems experience.
• 5–10 years of C/C++ in bare-metal, RTOS, or embedded Linux environments.
• Experience with hardware/software integration and test equipment.
• Familiarity with RS-232/422/485 and IP-based protocols.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, test, and maintain embedded flight software features and drivers.
• Analyze I/O timing and data throughput on hardware/software architectures.
• Interface with hardware designers for avionics integration and board bring-up.
• Draft unit, integration, and regression tests for flight logic.
• Coordinate functional testing on HWIL setups and simulators.
• Implement autonomous FDIR routines to handle radiation-related faults.

Skills

High-stakes aerospace

Communication skills

Automated testing

Software quality

Education

Bachelor’s degree in a related field

Tools

C & C++

RTOS

Bare-metal/Embedded Linux

Hardware debugging

Serial communication (RS-232/422/485)

Job description

Title:Embedded Software Engineer Location:Houston, TX. Citizenship Requirement: US citizenship required. Req#: 4092 Embedded Software / Flight Software - Engineer

The vision at Craig Technologies is to make space accessible to everyone by increasing the viability of low-cost access to space. At Craig Technologies, our whole is greater than the sum of our parts. The Craig Technologies team is made up of highly talented individuals, each contributing their own experience, knowledge, skills, and ideas. It is our team that sets us apart from our competition and makes our mission of Bringing Space Down to Earth™ possible. At Craig Technologies we treat each day like it’s Day One. We operate with a sense of urgency; we are customer obsessed, always learning and constantly evolving. Join our team and be a part of something great!

Job Summary

Craig Technologies is seeking a talented and meticulous Embedded Software / Flight Software Engineer to join our team in Houston, TX or Merritt Island, FL. The candidate will be responsible for the architecture, implementation, and rigorous verification of core flight software systems powering satellites in cislunar and lunar orbits. This role focuses on delivering high-reliability, deterministic code capable of executing complex real-time operations, managing onboard data handling, and executing autonomous fault recovery beyond Earth's magnetosphere.

Essential Duties/Responsibilities

• Design, implement, test, and maintain embedded flight software features, device drivers, and structural system improvements.
• Analyze, test, and perform low-level input/output (I/O) timing and data throughput performance assessments on integrated hardware/software architectures.
• Interface closely with hardware and electronics designers to coordinate seamless software-to-avionics integration and board bring-up activities.
• Draft automated unit, integration, and regression tests to validate flight logic against strict system constraints.
• Coordinate high-level functional testing of features on flat-sats, hardware-in-the-loop (HWIL) setups, and flight-representative simulators.
• Implement autonomous Fault Detection, Isolation, and Recovery (FDIR) flight routines to handle radiation-induced hardware resets or bit-flips autonomously.
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Skills

• An organized, thorough, and highly methodical approach to software quality, configuration control, and automated testing frameworks.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills with the ability to clearly document software APIs, state machines, and interface logic.
• Capable of maintaining both a high quantity and high quality of reliable code output.
• Ability to thrive and pivot effectively within a fast-paced, hard-charging, high-stakes aerospace engineering environment.

Required Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Physics, or a highly related engineering domain plus 5-10 years of experience in embedded flight systems.
• 5-10 years of direct experience writing high-reliability code utilizing C and C++ in a bare-metal, RTOS, or embedded Linux environment.
• Proven experience in deep hardware/software system integration, low-level debugging, and utilizing hardware test equipment (oscilloscopes, logic analyzers).
• Familiarity with standard serial communications protocols (RS-232, RS-422, RS-485) and standard packetized networking protocols (IP/UDP, IP/TCP).

Additional Eligibility Qualifications

• Direct experience with the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Core Flight Software (cFS) framework is a major plus.
• Experience with high-speed aerospace data protocols like SpaceWire, MIL-STD-1553, or CAN bus.
• Familiarity with xUnit-compliant test frameworks, POSIX-based operating systems (Linux, RTEMS, VxWorks), Docker-based containerization, and logging architectures.
• Experience working in an Agile/Scrum development model using Gitflow coordinated configuration management.
• All candidates selected will be subject to a background investigation and drug screen.
• To conform to U.S. Government International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Physical Requirements

• Prolonged periods standing or walking on hard surfaces.
• Ability to travel <10% in support of hardware testing.
• Ability to lift up to 30 lbs.

Note: This job description describes the general nature of the duties and requirements of the job. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list or to limit the supervisor's ability to modify work assignments as appropriate. All candidates selected will be subject to a security background investigation and must meet all eligibility requirements for access to classified information.

Craig Technologies is an EEO Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetics, or any other non-job-related protected status. All candidates selected will be subject to a security background investigation and must meet all eligibility requirements for access to classified information.