Head of Software Tools

Socket.dev; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 225,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Health Insurance

401(k) Plan

Paid Time Off

Parental Leave

Emotional Wellbeing

Professional Development

Team Building Activities

Job summary

Turion Space in Irvine, California is seeking a player‑coach Head of Vehicle Development, Software to own the software layer for vehicle development. You will set the vision, recruit a small elite team, and ship code from day one.

This is a full‑time, on‑site role at our Irvine headquarters. Responsibilities include roadmapping analytics automation, design automation, data infrastructure, applied AI, and release automation; building and mentoring engineers; driving automated pipelines and live

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or related technical field.
• 8+ years of software engineering experience with internal tools, automation, or infrastructure.
• Expert-level Python and working fluency in a systems language such as C++.
• Experience automating CAD/CAE/ECAD tools via APIs and scripting.
• Depth in at least one engineering domain to partner with analysts and engineers.
• Experience with data and cloud infrastructure, CI/CD, and compute-heavy workloads.
• Demonstrated technical leadership and ability to recruit engineers.

Responsibilities

• Own the roadmap for vehicle development software across analysis and design automation, AI, data infrastructure, and tooling.
• Recruit, lead, and grow a small elite software team; stay hands-on in architecture and code.
• Automate analyses and design releases; connect CAD/ECAD and data systems for a single source of truth.
• Stand up cloud and HPC infrastructure; measure and publish cycle time and quality wins.

Skills

Leadership

Mentorship

Strategic thinking

Communication

Python

C++

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or related field

Job description

Turion is developing the critical infrastructure of the space economy. We're doing this by building vertically integrated hardware and software: DROID, our line of space vehicles, and Starfire, our software suite covering simulation, modeling, planning, and operations. We're a group of people who fell in love with the future sci‑fi promised us, and we're building it into reality. We build hard things. We build them well. And we're just getting started. Turion is scaling toward production of tens of vehicles per month while running several vehicle development efforts in parallel, and the engineering practices that got us here will not get us there on manual effort alone. The Head of Vehicle Development, Software owns the software layer of how we develop vehicles: the tools, automation, AI, and data infrastructure that let a lean team design, analyze, build, and verify spacecraft at production rate.

You will turn one-off engineering analyses into push-button pipelines, wire our design and systems processes into a connected digital thread, and give every responsible engineer an unfair advantage. This is a player‑coach role. You will set the vision and recruit a small, elite team, and you will ship code yourself from day one. This is a full-time, exempt position based on‑site at our Irvine, California headquarters.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Own the roadmap. Define and drive the strategy for vehicle development software across analysis automation, design automation, systems and requirements tooling, applied AI, engineering data infrastructure, and compute.
• Build the team. Recruit, lead, and grow the software engineers on this team, set the technical bar, and stay hands‑on in architecture and code.
• Automate analysis. Drive the conversion of manual thermal, structural, vibration, shock, and environments analyses into parameterized, repeatable pipelines with automated model generation, batch solves, margin tracking, and generated reports.
• Automate design and release. Own CAD, ECAD, PDM/PLM, BOM, and engineering release automation, plus clean hand‑offs to manufacturing and supply chain.
• Systemize systems engineering. Stand up requirements, verification, budget, and trade study tooling so systems engineering runs on live data rather than static documents.
• Connect the digital thread. Create a common data layer linking requirements, CAD and ECAD, analysis models, test results, and as‑built vehicle configurations, giving one source of truth from concept through on‑orbit operations.
• Build the compute layer. Stand up the cloud and HPC infrastructure that simulation, data, and AI workloads run on, and keep cost per solve falling.
• Prove the leverage. Partner with responsible engineers in every discipline to find the highest value automation targets, drive adoption, and measure and publish cycle time and quality wins.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or a related technical field.
• 8+ years of software engineering experience, including building internal tools, automation, or infrastructure for hardware engineering organizations such as aerospace, defense, or automotive.
• Expert‑level Python, working fluency in at least one systems language such as C++, and strong software architecture fundamentals.
• Hands‑on experience automating commercial CAD, CAE, or ECAD tools through their APIs and scripting interfaces.
• Enough depth in at least one engineering domain, such as thermal, structures and dynamics, orbital mechanics, or electronics design, to partner credibly with analysts and design engineers. You understand what the tools are computing, not just how to script them.
• Experience with modern data and cloud infrastructure including databases and data modeling, services and APIs, CI/CD, and compute heavy workloads.
• Demonstrated technical leadership through architecture ownership, mentoring, or direct management, and the ability to recruit strong engineers.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience at a spacecraft, launch, defense, or automotive company that scaled production rate.
• Familiarity with PLM and requirements systems such as Teamcenter, Windchill, Duro, Jama, or DOORS.
• Experience with HPC or cloud batch compute for simulation.
• Applied AI or ML for engineering workflows.

Compensation: $200,000 to $225,000 USD annually

Employees may be asked to support alternate shifts, extended shifts, and/or travel during peak work periods.

ITAR Requirements

This position may include access to technology and/or software source code that is subject to U.S. export controls. To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Benefits

We offer a comprehensive compensation and benefits package designed to support the well‑being and professional growth of our employees. In addition to a competitive base salary and company stock, determined by factors such as job‑related knowledge, education, skills, experience, and market demand, full‑time employees are eligible for:

• Equity: Receive equity in Turion Space, letting you benefit from the company's success
• Health Insurance: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and their dependents.
• Retirement Plans: Access to a 401(k) plan with a 3% Employer Direct Contribution to help you plan for your future.
• Paid Time Off: Generous vacation days, personal days, sick days, and holidays to ensure you have time to recharge.
• Parental Leave: Paid parental leave following the birth of a newborn or adoption.
• Emotional Wellbeing: A no-cost Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to support you and your household’s emotional health and wellbeing.
• Professional Development: Opportunities for ongoing internal training, workshops, and courses to advance your skills and career growth.
• Team Building Activities: Regular social events, team outings, and company‑sponsored activities to foster a positive work environment.

We are dedicated to providing a supportive and enriching environment for our team members, recognizing that our collective success is built upon the well‑being and satisfaction of each individual.

Turion Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Turion Space is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.