Flight Software Engineer — Real-Time Spacecraft Systems

ispace, inc.; Englewood (CO); On-site; USD 101,000 - 152,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health coverage

Commuter benefits

Lunch stipend

Paid time off

401(k) plan

Travel opportunities

Stock options

Learning & development

Team culture

Job summary

ispace, Inc. in Englewood, Colorado is seeking a Flight Software Engineer to build high‑reliability embedded software for spacecraft flight operations, using C within a NASA cFS framework and real‑time design principles to enable robust mission execution.

You will own the full software lifecycle from requirements to deployment, collaborating with cross‑functional teams across the U.S., Japan and Luxembourg, and contribute to CI/CD pipelines, telemetry, and hardware interfaces for lunar missions.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of working experience.
• Proficiency in C for embedded applications with experience in high‑reliability embedded software systems; direct experience with spacecraft flight software is ideal.
• Experience with Python or similar scripting languages.
• Proficiency with Git version control.
• Working knowledge of Linux environments.
• Experience with real‑time system development and hardware interface integration.
• Knowledge of software application design and implementation lifecycle, including initialization, command processing, telemetry generation, and unit‑level testing.
• Understanding of CI/CD pipelines and generated verification products.

Responsibilities

• End to end ownership of FSW subsystem – from requirements through verification and real time operations.
• Architect, develop and maintain production‑quality C code for embedded spacecraft flight software applications within the NASA cFS framework, implementing rigorous unit‑level testing to ensure reliability of flight‑critical systems.
• Design and implement real‑time software systems for spacecraft operations, including command processing, telemetry generation, and hardware interface integration in memory‑constrained environments.
• Work with embedded Linux systems (PREEMPT‑RT), managing device trees, interrupt handling, scheduling, and system initialization to support high‑reliability spacecraft operations.
• Own CI/CD pipeline development and maintenance, ensuring continuous integration and deployment of flight software with generated verification products.
• Collaborate with international engineering teams in Japan, Luxembourg and the U.S.
• Develop and maintain FSW operations procedures, technical documentation, and interface control documents to ensure operational readiness and mission assurance throughout the software development lifecycle.
• Support spacecraft operations as needed, monitoring telemetry, analyzing system performance, and providing flight software expertise during mission‑critical phases.
• Work with vendors and internal stakeholders, clearly communicating technical requirements, progress and issues to both technical and non‑technical audiences

Skills

C for embedded

Python

Git

Linux

RTOS concepts

CI/CD pipelines

Telemetry/Command

Tools

Yocto

U-Boot

Docker

cFS (Core Flight System)

CCSDS protocols

PREEMPT-RT Linux

Job description

ispace, Inc. in Englewood, Colorado is seeking a Flight Software Engineer to build high‑reliability embedded software for spacecraft flight operations, using C within a NASA cFS framework and real‑time design principles to enable robust mission execution.

You will own the full software lifecycle from requirements to deployment, collaborating with cross‑functional teams across the U.S., Japan and Luxembourg, and contribute to CI/CD pipelines, telemetry, and hardware interfaces for lunar missions.