Flight & Ground Space Software Architect – TS/SCI

Rocket Lab; Denver (CO); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Employee Stock Purchase Program

Health insurance

Job summary

Rocket Lab in Littleton, Colorado seeks a highly skilled Principal Software Engineer to lead the design, development, and delivery of mission-critical software for space systems. You will work across flight and ground software, collaborating with systems teams to ensure reliable operations.

The role requires an active TS/SCI clearance, US citizenship, and a strong background in embedded software, RTOS like VxWorks, and modern software architectures.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, or a related technical discipline.
• 12+ 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: Define and evolve the end-to-end software architecture for flight and ground systems, ensuring scalability, reliability, security, and mission success.
• Develop Flight Software: Design application software for spacecraft operating within Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOS) such as VxWorks, or embedded Linux, including hardware drivers for spacecraft sensors and actuators such as IMUs, Star Trackers, and Reaction Wheels.
• Build Ground Software Systems: Architect and deploy web-based ground software platforms for spacecraft operations, integrating flight and ground systems to support diverse mission profiles.
• Test and Validate Systems: Develop unit tests within a Continuous Integration (CI) framework and collaborate with hardware-in-the-loop test engineers to verify combined software and hardware functionality.
• Collaborate and Lead: Provide technical direction and mentorship to engineering teams, act as a trusted advisor to leadership, and partner with stakeholders to align software systems with mission requirements.
• Support On-Orbit Operations: Ensure software performance in harsh environments and contribute to mission-critical operations.

Skills

C/C++

Embedded systems

RTOS

Python

CAN/CAN-FD

SpaceWire

UDP/TCP

VxWorks

Embedded Linux

ICD reading

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering or computer science

Advanced degree in aerospace or related field

Tools

CAN/CAN-FD

SpaceWire

UDP/TCP

VxWorks

Embedded Linux

Python (testing)

Job description

Rocket Lab in Littleton, Colorado seeks a highly skilled Principal Software Engineer to lead the design, development, and delivery of mission-critical software for space systems. You will work across flight and ground software, collaborating with systems teams to ensure reliable operations.

The role requires an active TS/SCI clearance, US citizenship, and a strong background in embedded software, RTOS like VxWorks, and modern software architectures.