Lead Flight Software Engineer, Space Systems

Space Talent; Chantilly (VA); On-site; USD 199,000 - 325,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee stock purchase program

401(k) with company match

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

Job summary

Rocket Lab is seeking a Principal Software Engineer in Chantilly, VA, to design and lead flight software for space payloads within the Space Systems division. You will work on diverse sensor systems, optimize performance, and guide architecture across teams.

The role requires a senior background in embedded and flight software, with security clearance eligibility. Expect equity, competitive base pay, and a dynamic, groundbreaking mission to expand humanity’s reach in space.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science or computer engineering required.
• 12+ years of embedded software engineering experience.
• Experience designing complex multithreaded applications.
• Experience designing flight software.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Play a key role supporting the development of payload flight software for Space Systems programs.
• Focus on deployment of novel algorithms into austere environments on Size/Weight/Power constrained sensor systems.
• Lead cross-functional teams to define technical requirements and deliver integrated solutions.
• Provide technical leadership in all aspects of software design and development from requirements to deployment.
• Define and influence software architecture, design patterns, interfaces, and standards for scalable solutions.
• Drive core software fundamentals of performance-oriented programming leveraging accelerator technologies.
• Mentor engineers across experience levels and foster engineering excellence.
• Support technical planning, effort estimation, risk identification, dependency management, and milestone delivery.

Skills

Embedded software

Multithreaded design

Flight software

Security clearance

Education

Bachelor’s degree in computer science or computer engineering

Tools

FPGA

CUDA

Python

MATLAB

Job description

Rocket Lab is seeking a Principal Software Engineer in Chantilly, VA, to design and lead flight software for space payloads within the Space Systems division. You will work on diverse sensor systems, optimize performance, and guide architecture across teams.

The role requires a senior background in embedded and flight software, with security clearance eligibility. Expect equity, competitive base pay, and a dynamic, groundbreaking mission to expand humanity’s reach in space.