Ground Systems Software Engineer — Real-Time Space Ops

Socket.dev; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 131,000 - 184,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Stock options

Relocation support

401(k) with employer match

Wellness reimbursement

Job summary

Varda Space Industries seeks a Mission Software Engineer to lead ground-segment services and mission-control tooling in El Segundo, CA. You will implement telemetry ingestion, distribution, and commands, while delivering operator-grade dashboards and CI/CD automation for rapid, safe iteration.

The role requires Python, real-time systems knowledge, and experience with safety-critical software. Collaboration spans avionics, RF, and operations teams in a fast-paced space environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, math, physics, engineering or equivalent technical experience in safety critical software.
• 3+ years of experience in the development of spacecraft or similar safety critical software.
• Expertise with development in Python, along with a strong understanding of the language concepts.
• Have strong systems fundamentals: concurrency, networking, performance, reliability.
• Experience building real-time data acquisition, scaling, and distribution services - low-latency messaging, time-series and relational stores.
• Hands-on experience with CI/CD, dependency/build systems, and infrastructure-as-code.
• End-to-end observability experience: logging, metrics, tracing.
• Docker/Kubernetes; release management, phased rollouts, and operational readiness for controlled networks.

Responsibilities

• Own Ground Segment Services: Develop and maintain high-reliability services for telemetry ingestion, scaling, distribution, and commanding.
• Mission Control Interfaces: Deliver operator-grade UIs and dashboards that optimize ops time and reduce cognitive load.
• Simulation and Test Automation: Build tools to run flight-software simulations, device emulators, and scenario-based automated tests.
• Build the Mission Platform: Design, implement, and productionize software for mission and ground software teams; standardize CI/CD pipelines and IaC.
• Deployments Across Environments: Create robust deployment patterns for lab benches, test stands, and mission networks; plan safe rollout/rollback strategies.

Skills

Python

Real-time systems

CI/CD

Docker/Kubernetes

Observability

Concurrency

Networking

Performance

Safety-critical software

Education

Bachelor's degree in a technical field

Tools

C++

Ansible

NiceGUI

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

Varda Space Industries seeks a Mission Software Engineer to lead ground-segment services and mission-control tooling in El Segundo, CA. You will implement telemetry ingestion, distribution, and commands, while delivering operator-grade dashboards and CI/CD automation for rapid, safe iteration.

The role requires Python, real-time systems knowledge, and experience with safety-critical software. Collaboration spans avionics, RF, and operations teams in a fast-paced space environment.