Intern, Software Engineering, 2027

Cowboy Space Corp.; San Carlos (CA); On-site; USD 77,000 - 86,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Daily lunch in the office and a fully–

stocked kitchen and beverages

Job summary

Cowboy Space Corp. in San Carlos, CA, invites motivated students to join a quarter-long internship designing and testing software across flight, embedded, and ground systems for an ambitious space-based energy program.

You will contribute to signal processing, on-orbit compute, and telemetry infrastructure while collaborating with hardware and systems engineers. ITAR compliance and hands-on hardware work are part of the role.

Qualifications

• Undergrad/grad student in CS/CE/EE or related STEM.
• Strong fundamentals in software engineering: data structures, algorithms, computer architecture.
• Proficient in C, C++, Python, or similar.
• Collaborative, self-directed, comfortable with ambiguity.

Responsibilities

• Design, development, and testing of software across flight, embedded, and ground systems, including avionics, guidance/navigation/control, and satellite bus/payload software
• Build and maintain software for signal processing, RF/optical communication pipelines, and on-orbit compute infrastructure (GPU/TPU clusters)
• Develop tooling and services for mission operations, telemetry/command infrastructure, and satellite health monitoring
• Write, test, and debug code across the stack — from low-level embedded/real-time systems to higher-level ground and data systems
• Collaborate with hardware, electrical, and systems engineering teams to define interfaces, debug integration issues, and validate end-to-end system behavior
• Build simulation, test, and hardware-in-the-loop frameworks to validate software against spacecraft requirements
• Participate in code reviews, write technical documentation, and contribute to engineering best practices as the team and codebase scale

Skills

Data structures

Algorithms

Computer architecture

C/C++/Python

Collaboration

Education

CS/CE/EE student

Tools

RTOS

VHDL/Verilog

F Prime

Job description

About Cowboy Space Corp.

Mission

Cowboy Space Corporation is solving the global energy crisis by building the infrastructure for abundant, resilient space-based solar energy. We are tackling one of humanity's most complex engineering challenges with a world-class team dedicated to delivering a revolutionary power platform. Cowboy Space Corporation is transforming how civilization powers, computes and connects - from orbit to Earth.

Background

Cowboy Space Corporation is building the infrastructure to power and connect the orbital economy. Our modular, scalable satellites collect sunlight in Low Earth Orbit to enable multiple integrated applications: transmitting energy via infrared lasers (space-to-earth and space-to-space), powering on-orbit high-performance computing clusters (GPU/TPU), and providing secure, high bandwidth optical data transport.

Current energy and data systems rely on complex logistics and outdated infrastructure. Cowboy Space Corporation overcomes these challenges by enabling direct, on-demand, secure, and scalable energy distribution and data processing from space. This will revolutionize how we operate in orbit and on Earth, supporting the rapidly expanding space industrial base, ISAM (In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing) operations, remote regions, and military bases.

Baiju Bhatt founded Cowboy Space Corporation in 2024. Inspired by his father's work with NASA Langley Research Center, Baiju earned his B.S. in Physics and M.S. in Mathematics at Stanford before co-founding Robinhood, now a public company that has helped over 20 million Americans access the financial system. Cowboy Space Corporation has raised ~$365 million from Index Ventures, Interlagos, Construct Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, NEA, and others.

This is an ambitious mission that demands extraordinary talent. Cowboy Space Corporation's team has worked at places like SpaceX, Blue Origin, Stoke Space, Astranis and NASA, and is based in San Carlos, CA. If you're ready to solve complex technical challenges and help build the most important energy company in the world, we want to hear from you.

Responsibilities

• Design, development, and testing of software across flight, embedded, and ground systems, including avionics, guidance/navigation/control, and satellite bus/payload software
• Build and maintain software for signal processing, RF/optical communication pipelines, and on-orbit compute infrastructure (GPU/TPU clusters)
• Develop tooling and services for mission operations, telemetry/command infrastructure, and satellite health monitoring
• Write, test, and debug code across the stack — from low-level embedded/real-time systems to higher-level ground and data systems
• Collaborate with hardware, electrical, and systems engineering teams to define interfaces, debug integration issues, and validate end-to-end system behavior
• Build simulation, test, and hardware-in-the-loop frameworks to validate software against spacecraft requirements
• Participate in code reviews, write technical documentation, and contribute to engineering best practices as the team and codebase scale

Basic Qualifications

• Currently enrolled as an undergraduate or graduate student in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related STEM field
• Strong fundamentals in software engineering: data structures, algorithms, and computer architecture
• Proficiency in at least one systems or general-purpose programming language (C, C++, Python, or similar)
• Collaborative, self-directed work style; comfort with ambiguity and learning quickly

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with embedded or real-time systems programming (RTOS, bare-metal, or similar constrained environments)
• Exposure to signal processing, hardware description languages (VHDL/Verilog), or FPGA-based development
• Familiarity with flight software frameworks (e.g., cFS, F Prime) or spacecraft software architectures
• Experience with version control, CI/CD pipelines, and automated testing frameworks
• Prior internship, coursework, or personal project experience involving robotics, satellites, avionics, or other hardware-adjacent software
• Comfort debugging across the hardware/software boundary, including use of tools like oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, or debuggers

Compensation

(Quarter-long internship) — Paid $1,800 weekly

• Daily lunch in the office and a fully stocked kitchen with beverages and snacks

ITAR Requirements

• Export Control Requirement: To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), applicants must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about ITAR here.

Disclaimer

This job description is a summary of the primary duties and responsibilities of the job and position. It is not intended to be a comprehensive or all-inclusive listing of duties and responsibilities. Contents are subject to change at Cowboy Space Corp.'s discretion.

Cowboy Space Corp. is an equal employment opportunity employer. We consider individuals for employment or promotion according to their skills, abilities and experience. Cowboy Space Corp. is committed to complying with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religious creed, age, national origin, ancestry, physical, mental or developmental disability, sex (which includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and medical conditions relating to pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding), veteran status, military status, marital or registered domestic partnership status, medical condition (including cancer or genetic characteristics), genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, as well as any other category protected by federal, state or local laws.