Embedded Systems Engineer (Mantis Space)

STEM Boomerang; Albuquerque (NM); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Retirement plan

Unlimited PTO

Job summary

Mantis Space in Albuquerque is seeking an Embedded Systems Engineer to lead architecture, design, and testing of spacecraft embedded computing systems. The role spans hardware and software and may be individual contributor or lead.

You will select processors, FPGAs, interfaces, develop real-time firmware, and work with cross‑functional teams across systems, electrical, optical, and test to deliver reliable space-grade platforms.

Qualifications

• Proven experience delivering embedded systems for aerospace/defense.
• Strong C/C++ proficiency and real-time software development.
• Experience with hardware-software integration and lab bring-up.
• Ability to work across multidisciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Define and maintain spacecraft embedded architecture and timing.
• Design and bring up processor boards, interfaces, and control hardware.
• Develop firmware for payloads, sensors, actuators, and power electronics.
• Create deterministic real-time software for mission operations.
• Collaborate with systems, electrical, and optical teams for integration.
• Document architecture, interfaces, and verification requirements.

Skills

Embedded systems

C/C++

Real-time software

Systems thinking

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science

Tools

Processor boards

FPGAs

JTAG

Oscilloscopes

Job description

Embedded Systems Engineer (Mantis Space)

Albuquerque, United States

Mantis Space is a venture-backed aerospace company pioneeringbreakthrough technologies to build the first energy infrastructure inspace. Headquartered in New Mexico—the cornerstone of U.S. defenseR&D and a growing hub of the nation’s Space Valley,we are buildingfrom the ground up to accelerate the next generation of satellite andorbital energy infrastructure.

Our veteran-led team brings decades of leadership across space,defense, and advanced R&D, with experience at Google, Meta,AeroVironment/BlueHalo, Terran Orbital, NASA’s Jet PropulsionLaboratory, the Space Telescope Science Institute, and Apple. Withdeep expertise in optics, photonics, and space systems, we aredesigning and delivering the infrastructure that will power the futureof orbital energy and advanced aerospace operations.

Why Join Us

• Build from the ground up: Directly shape our Albuquerque laband R&D test environment.
• Make an impact: Your systems will enable critical research inoptics, lasers, and energy systems for space.
• Grow with us: Work alongside leading engineers, operators, andinvestors in a mission-driven environment.
• Competitive pay, full benefits, and equity in a companyshaping the future of energy and space.

About the Role:

Mantis Space is seeking an Embedded Systems Engineer responsible for delivering the architecture, design, development, integration, and testing of embedded computing systems for spacecraft and advanced payloads. This could be an individual contributor or leader role.

This role spans both hardware and software. The engineer will be responsible for selecting processors, microcontrollers, FPGAs, communication interfaces, and supporting electronics; developing or guiding the design of the embedded hardware; and building the real-time software and firmware that operate those systems.

The engineer will work closely with systems, electrical, controls, optical, power, mechanical, and test teams to develop reliable embedded platforms that interface directly with sensors, actuators, payloads, high-power electronics, and precision pointing hardware.

The ideal candidate is comfortable moving between system architecture, circuit and board-level design, processor and interface selection, firmware development, real-time software, laboratory bring-up, and spacecraft-level integration.

Key Responsibilities

• - Define and maintain the architecture for spacecraft embedded computing,
  control, and mission-management systems
  and supporting electronics based on performance, timing, reliability, radiation,
  power, thermal, and mission requirements
• - Design, develop, review, and bring up embedded processing and control
  hardware, including processor boards, interface electronics, communication
  hardware, and distributed control nodes
• - Develop embedded software and firmware for spacecraft payloads, control
  systems, sensors, actuators, and mission-critical electronics management, and fault-management functionality
• - Develop deterministic and timing-critical software for real-time spacecraft
  operations
• - Develop and integrate software and firmware that interfaces directly with gimbals,
  fast steering mirrors, inertial measurement units, cameras, photodetectors, motor
  controllers, power electronics, and related hardware to achieve data sheet
  performance of these components (e.g. low noise, low latency)
• - Support implementation and execution of precision pointing, tracking, and control algorithms
• - Define communication architectures and data routing between processors,
  sensors, payloads, actuators, and spacecraft subsystems
• - Develop and implement interfaces using spacecraft and embedded
  communication protocols and buses
• - Define subsystem interfaces, data flows, timing budgets, synchronization
  requirements, startup behavior, redundancy approaches, and fault responses
• - Develop interfaces with high-power electronics, laser systems, optical payloads,
  and spacecraft power subsystems troubleshooting, and laboratory testing processor-board development, and embedded hardware verification
• - Develop hardware-in-the-loop and software-in-the-loop test environments for
  subsystem and system-level verification
• - Support spacecraft integration, verification, environmental testing, and mission-
  readiness activities
• - Perform root-cause analysis of hardware, firmware, timing, communications, and system-integration issues and drive corrective actions to closure
• - Document embedded system architecture, hardware interfaces, software interfaces, communication protocols, timing requirements, design decisions, and verification requirements
• - Collaborate with multidisciplinary engineering teams throughout the full

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical discipline
• 7+ years of experience developing embedded systems for aerospace, defense, robotics, autonomous systems, industrial systems, or other complex hardware
• Strong experience developing systems that combine embedded hardware, firmware, and real-time software
• Experience selecting processors, microcontrollers, FPGAs, communication interfaces, memory, and supporting electronics for embedded applications
• Experience designing, developing, bringing up, or debugging custom embedded electronics and processor-based hardware
• Strong proficiency in embedded programming languages such as C or C++
• Experience developing software or firmware that interfaces directly with sensors, actuators, motors, cameras, data converters, or other electronic hardware
• Experience with processor architectures, communication buses, peripheral interfaces, and distributed embedded systems
• Knowledge of deterministic timing, interrupts, synchronization, concurrency, scheduling, and real-time operating systems
• Experience debugging embedded systems using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, debuggers, JTAG interfaces, protocol analyzers, and other laboratory instrumentation
• Strong understanding of hardware/software interfaces and the ability to troubleshoot problems across both domains
• Experience supporting system integration, hardware-in-the-loop testing, verification, and configuration management
• Strong systems-thinking, root-cause analysis, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills

Full range of competitive benefits including 100% employer paidhealth insurance (medical, dental, vision), retirement plan, andunlimited PTO